Even Flow
by Warriorsong
Summary: REVERSIONED. Parts 0 Preludes With Parts 2A, 2B, 3 and 4. Now includes stand alone fictions such as The Pain Of Doubt. A stranger from the future heralds the beginning of the end. Heavily character focused and intense action. Strictly MA15
1. Part 00

**EVEN FLOW**

R E V E R S I O N E D

A BISHOJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON Fan Fiction

By Nicholas Clark / Warriorsong

_Comprising the original fan fictions Foolish Heart, and The Pain Of Doubt, with Even Flow Prologue A - Tranquillity Bending, and Prologue B - Five Months Later And Then Some_

**0. THE PRELUDES**

**Foolish Heart**

_"Sleeping with an empty bottle, he's a sad and an empty hearted man_

_All he needs is a job, and a little respect_

_So he can get out while he can_

_You always need to hear both sides of the story"_

_Phil Collins - "Both Sides Of The Story" - Both Sides_

-------

"How could I?" he thought. Over and over again, a mantra, his heartbeat, the singular drum to its call.

He just sat there, shrouded by a darkness he felt from within and without. He was afraid to sleep. It's was all so...

What? What was it?

His anger was building again. Too fucking bad. Everything was already smashed. The glass-topped coffee table hadn't meant to be thrown across the room like that; or at all seemingly from the way it had exploded. It had seemed like a good idea to him at the time but in retrospect... ideas. Ideas; always the ideas, leading to thoughts and feelings, only causing pain.

He needed an out.

He had to get out of there. It still smelt like her. The sweet scent of moonlight on the dew; pure, without artificial equal. Her shampoo; her perfume, her clothes, her. Her. Cloying, driving him insane.

A door slammed.

It was pissing down with rain; sheets of elemental purification blasting the dirt from the streets but not from his heart. "Fitting no?" his thoughts tormented him, a cascade of water matching his pain and anguish. His loss. The sky crying for the one who no longer could.

It was like the sky was mocking him - mirroring his crying soul, while his eyes where dry. A cruel joke being played upon some dapper chess pawn dressed for a formal dinner, cape, cane and hat, rakish to one side.

The rain should have been trying to cool his temper. It normally did, but tonight it simply wasn't working. It inflamed him all the more. Boiled his soul.

So he ran.

-------

It was no good. Even with the running, he couldn't leave the guilt and pain over what he had done behind. They clutched to him like starving beggars, feeding off him in his misery. Taking to the rooftops, alighting on fire escapes didn't help either; he couldn't fly away from this. His thoughts were consumed with her visage, sweet, and by his torment, bitter.

His coat tails soaked, he stood upon the parapet of an old brownstone, the steaming city with its rain hazed face below him, its streets like chasms of darkness. Boiling raging torment. It would have been so easy to just let his control go, fall, embrace the darkness below and forget the fight with that within.

He knew, however that his book wasn't written that way. He had chapters still to travel and he was pretty sure it wouldn't work either, by his just slamming the cover shut. Be nice to try it though.

The dark figure fell to his knees. The stinging rain mingled with his salty tears. Crisp and tart mixed on his lips as his shoulders slumped, his body heaving in the cold and with his heart wrenched sobs.

The sky seemed to have given him a gift but he didn't notice, its tears giving vent to his own.

-------

It was daylight. God's knew what day it was. He sure as hell didn't. What had woken him up? Knocking? Yes that was it, a steady staccato, like the drumming in his ears, and with a better chance of going away if he ignored it.

"Morning Mamoru", said a voice from the hall.

He managed to fall off the couch and stand, slipping on a collection of bottles and tumbling onto the floor. Where was coffee table?

His fogged brain processed its shattered remains sitting over against the wall. And in the kitchen, and over by the bathroom.

Redness. Crimson pain that he could deal with; more tangible than the other kind - and fleeting. Ebbing like the tide of his heart. Glass cutting his palm. The invading figure, Motoki, he now realizes, helps him up.

"Mamoru, you're a mess," concern evident in the voice, "What happened?"

He knew what his friend wanted. He just wanted his side of the story, hoping what he heard was wrong, garbled or at least that there was some underlying reasoning.

"You already know," the haggard figure cracked at him, breaking into a cough, his mouth feeling like a vacuum cleaner has been emptied inside it.

"Yeah," Motoki replied, "but what I want to know is why. Why now, after all the effort and soul searching. After finding someone to lo..."

"I don't love her," the crippled figure interjected his voice raspy yet harsh, an edge buried.

The guest in the shattered living room backed away, his hands moving from where they had been hovering over the man's shoulders, about to offer comfort. His fists and shoulders tensed. "That's crap and you know it. I know because I know you and I know how she made you feel."

"Feel," the figure stumbled to its feet, staggering, reality churning like a roundabout, his finger pointed crookedly at the guest, "you don't know shit about how I feel, fuck feelings! All they get you is hurt and alone! Well fuck that and fuck you!" The figure stood straighter, belligerent, "Fuck her as well!"

The ground caught him as he fell backwards, the sting on his chin the only indicator anything had happened. The guest stood over him, menace quickly giving way to pity and sorrow. His intruding friend's eyes were so deep and said so much. They questioned him, implored for a reason, begged for the answers. And beneath was a will that loyalty and trust couldn't deny. Tears broke from the young man's eyes, as pain and sickness crept through his prone body. He wanted to shut them out, drown them under in the silence, but those eyes. The eyes of a friend.

"I'm too old for her"

"Try another one," Motoki said softly, his knees bent as he crouched beside the slowly curling figure.

A sob choked the man and bile rose in his throat. Pushing aside the feelings, the situation struck him. Rocking onto his backside, legs spread in front; the figure slowly looked at his left hand, red with blood and red with pain. "I'm bleeding..." he mumbled.

Motoki's eyes hardened, Mamoru was either skirting the subject or was still off in his own little world. "Self-inflicted and by rights about what you deserve from all accounts."

The figure's head snapped up at the tone, clarions of tension dully ringing as he lashed out with fresh anger, louder than he should have, at a man who was his best and possibly only friend. "I'm bleeding here Motoki; throw me a towel or something, damnit!"

Motoki rose and mumbled, turning to disappear down the small hallway and into the kitchenette. He returned, hurling a tea-towel towards the man. It fell unnoticed as the figure on the floor stared at the dark blood seeping from his hands. Motoki sighed and knelt before his friend, taking up the towel and swaddling it around the cut hand.

"The fact that you are bleeding, well, that's a given considering all the glass lying about," he retorted. The sarcasm was over Mamoru's head at present, but was helping Motoki to regain his composure. He understood his friend's need to vent the frustration, but why was his friend so distraught over a girl he said he didn't love. Sensing his friend's foggy lapse from his enraged awakening, he dived straight in. Mamoru was stubborn and often the only way to bring his head back on track was to pole-axe the situation. Hardly tactful, but effective.

"She came into work a couple of days ago, and she was, hell, is a mess. You've broken her heart. Why? And don't give me that shit about age and not loving her or any other half-arsed excuse. I've known you too long for you to try and lie to me."

The haunting came back, the dark dreams, echoes of night, warning that he would effectively kill her should he speak of it. And it hurt to force the words out of his mouth, to respond. "Leave me alone, damnit". A breathy hiss, yet Motoki heard it. He stood up and looked down at his friend, his composure slipping slightly.

"Christ Mamoru, get a clue. It's ripping you up the same, if not more than her. Why?"

"GO!" Mamoru screamed, tears eroding the dirt built up on his cheeks, his hands flying in mad gesticulation, droplets of blood spattering across the floor.

Dirt? From where? Where had he been to get dirty?

Motoki looked at Mamoru, his gaze veiled, whatever emotion behind blocked from view. Finally, a decision reached, Motoki spoke, "Okay man, but sober up - you reek of booze. I start work at six o'clock tonight. If you wanna talk I'll be at home until then."

Motoki stood slowly and turned with a slight frown, silently leaving Mamoru's apartment. He had never seen his friend in a state such as this. He was worried. And confused. Admittedly Mamoru was very private, but this was a little too much. He knew his best friend was hurting. Bad. But when Mamoru needed to talk, he would. Motoki just hoped it would be a matter of sooner rather than later. This self destructive leaning was… Motoki cut the thought midway as he closed the door behind him.

-------

Mamoru looked about his apartment, in all its chaotic glory. He was a bit confused, about several points. First up, he had a screaming headache, second, a very dry throat and third, a cut hand.

Those were a purely physical concern. Sensory, it was simply added too. There were empty and half-empty bottles and cigarette butts all over where his coffee table used to live. He didn't smoke cigarettes, didn't know anyone who did. Yet in his clouded brain they added up slowly. It would explain things though. Bottles were...

"Shit." Rationalization came slowly to his fogged mind. The effort of speech crystallized his thoughts outside the maelstrom that his head seemed content to stay in. "Okay clearly now," he mumbled, "headache, throat, cut. Bottles, cigarettes, glass. Bottle's made of glass."

Okay that made a detached sort of sense. The rest washed over him as quickly, the gritty feeling all over his body, the sharp stubble on his cheeks and the stale odour normally associated with alleyways and train stations.

His recent conversation with Motoki filtered back through his head. Mamoru turned and stumbled towards the bathroom, harshly pulling the stained and torn white shirt with his good hand.

-------

It was thirty minutes later. Mamoru had pulled himself out of the shower; the hot beads of water and the caress of steam had failed on the broader scope, but only because his head still hurt. Clad in a thick blue towel, tightly wrapped around his waist, he navigated his way through the living room and hallway to stand in his kitchen before the refrigerator. The door opened slowly.

Empty, save for some mayonnaise and a half dozen aluminium cans of some indeterminate liquor.

Deep inside he was contemplating a 'hair of the dog remedy' but his stomach had already protested against such a theory several times while he was in the bathroom.

Groaning with discomfort he started his trek back to the bathroom and his bedroom beyond.

-------

It was now mid-afternoon. Mamoru's hand had stopped bleeding after being wrapped in the tea-towel; his advanced metabolism quickly knitting deep flesh, with only an angry cut remaining, hidden now under a crisp white bandage. Every time he moved his fingers, the subtle tearing of flesh reminded him of its presence. Somewhat pleasurably were he to admit it, in a sick sort of justification. Although he wasn't it any state to admit anything, to himself or anyone else. And so, freshly bandaged and coming to grips with the facts, and being still slightly drunk, Mamoru wandered aimlessly through the streets of Juuban.

His eyes cast downward, feet shuffling, Mamoru walked. And with every step, the feelings cried louder as they broke through the surface of his shield; breathing his pain.

And he walked.

The sun had begun to set. Mamoru raised his eyes to see the park where he would bring Chibi-Usa to play. A child he had no ties to by blood or family, yet strangely, one he found comfort with, felt a need to protect. The same way he felt, had felt... for her.

He had pushed her on those swings, joyous fun, with him, Chibi-Usa and her.

He was sober suddenly, the clarity of thought returning dimly. It was then that everything made sense. The alcohol had a purpose. It dulled the dreams. Buffered the pain. Shielded his heart.

-------

Empty. Bliss. The moment confined. Sense's alive, no past, no future, just the now, heightened, like me, and no pain no regret, just the now. Being, alone, in a state of mind, free, alone, skirting reality like as esper, watching the within, being the without. No pain, free, glorious freedom from the pain of present, past and then. Me, just me; alone. Unafraid, indomitable, unsanctioned and restraint gone. Me, real no falsity, no mask no concealing in the view of others, freedom of thought, running across fields of dreams, being as I should be, unfettered, angry, unashamed to show the emotion, pain, loneliness and greed, lust wanting and fears. Me, as is, as should be, solid, but not, ethereal, not lasting, a sense of impending reality, fear, not wanting pain, and it comes, like a hurricane and an avalanche, crushing the me in its wake. Death to me, as I am hidden behind the false, again, saddening, pain, make it stop, drink from the cup.

-------

Motoki was quietly sweeping the aisles of the Crown Game Centre. His evening had been quiet, most of the patrons going home early for dinner and homework, while several older students had stayed until he had closed up. While the gamers had been steady until sundown, it was then that the heavens opened, drowning the streets with it cleansing tears.

Mamoru hadn't called. Not at home earlier, or when he had rung Reika to ask if their friend had called the apartment. The machines gleamed like multi-faceted jewels, but the usual satisfaction of a day's work done was absent.

Motoki was worried. The girl's had been in earlier, two on either side of the centre figure, who usually so bright and cheery, had a face matching the sullen skies. The other girls had hidden their feelings better. Rei, in her imperious manner had questioned Motoki, who could say nothing to assay any fears. This had just seemed to make the priestess more annoyed. Motoki could only stare at the blonde girl with the pale tear-streaked face. He knew Mamoru's heart beat only for her, but couldn't speak for his friend. Because, he couldn't betray his trust; or in truth understand why his friend was destroying them both so intently.

In some situations, even ice cream is a dull substitute for a resolution.

-------

Mamoru stumbled through the alleyway, the half-consumed cigarette drooping from his lips. The blurring that the warm alcohol had on his senses was welcome. The stinging rain was only slightly irritating now. The cold was something there, but largely irrelevant in the grander scheme.

Mamoru stumbled into a recessed doorway and slumped over into a crouch.

The bottle of alcohol rolled gently from his outstretched hand and its contents gently trickled into the gutters to mix with the flotsam of the city.

He had begun to snore, curled over. Several minutes passed before he toppled.

-------

Motoki switched the security system onto its night-time mode and switched off the lights. Everything was ready for another day and he was ready for home. That is, after he dropped by his friend's apartment. Breathing out slowly, he flicked the latch on the door.

The door swung opened slightly and stood still, jammed.

Motoki muttered under his breath and rammed his shoulder against the door causing it to swear on its hinges and swing open fully after shoving its impediment into the gutter.

Motoki sighed. The back doorway's were the ideal night-time rest spots of the homeless and impoverished. The police monitored the situation feel enough and it was sad, but spoke volumes about the state of things. Normally Motoki would feel some compassion and call one of the shelters to come and get the individual, but today he had other things on his mind.

"Damn transient," he mumbled, nudging the prone form with his foot. "Hey buddy, move along, this ain't a hotel. Go to one of the shelters." The body didn't move and Motoki bent down and pushed the figure over.

The body rolled over to reveal the bruised face of Chiba Mamoru; eyes rolled back slightly and lips rumbling with a deep, drunken snore.

-------

Motoki banged on his apartment door; his blonde hair hanging into his eyes as he attempted to balance the inebriated form half against his side, half off his shoulder.

"Reika," he shouted, walking the line between being unheard and disturbing the neighbours. His fiancée' slowly opened the door, the thin chain catching the hall light. Shaking the sleep from her head and with queries on her lips, she closed the door and slid off the chain. She opened the door wide and the questions doubled as she saw her beloved holding their oldest friend, semi-comatose, in his arms.

"Oh no," she mumbled, tightening her robe over her jeans and t-shirt as she held the door to allow Motoki through.

Motoki navigated the passageway, passed through the living room and turned to the right, manhandling the stuporous Mamoru into the bathroom where he unceremoniously dumped him into the bathtub.

"What happened?" came Reika's gentle voice from behind Motoki. Her hand came to rest lightly on his shoulder where he soon moved his to clasp hers.

"I could only guess." he mumbled.

As Reika handed Motoki a blanket from the linen closet, he covered the unconscious Mamoru and checked his pulse.

"But he's going to have a real sore head." he continued on to no one in particular.

-------

Reika and Motoki sat at their breakfast table, drinking coffee; the remains of breakfast scattered tidily. Both looked worse for wear and dishevelled when slowly, a stubbled and bleary Mamoru plodded out of the bathroom, dressed in stained trousers.

"Good morning Mamoru," said Reika. Mamoru stopped, and looked at her vaguely before turning and stumbling back down the hallway.

"Not a morning person, our Mr. Chiba," muttered Motoki as he returned to his half-eaten toast.

-------

Preparing to try and make another break for it Mamoru opened the bathroom door to find Reika standing in front of him, carrying towels and clothing.

Wordless, she gave Mamoru a sombre smile and handed him the bundle.

"Point taken," thought Mamoru absently. Initially it had been a shock to find them in his apartment but upon returning to his bathroom and finding the blanket in the bathtub, his soiled clothing and fancy looking soaps, he had realised where he was. Maybe the showering could wash away the embarrassment.

Mamoru grabbed the blanket, damp with sweat and put it on the floor, scooping his other clothing into the thick woollen mass.

The showerhead coughed as the water started its downward flow.

-------

One hour later and feeling a damn sight better, Mamoru sat across from Motoki and Reika, eating heartily and onto his fourth cup of coffee. The breeze from the open ranch slider leading to the balcony seemed to refresh him as much as the food.

"So that's the story then?" said Motoki, confused as to what he had just heard as it directly came into conflict with the established Mamoru norm.

"Yes," said Mamoru, around the mouthful of eggs and sausage. Mentally he reflected on the omitted parts of his story, things he should know but couldn't grasp or maybe just didn't want to remember. Or wasn't ready too.

"Nightmares," said Reika.

"I can't deal with them anymore," Mamoru said, and he could feel his resolve cracking. "I can't sleep, I feel like I'm losing it and ... and."

Mamoru's eyes watered as he pushed himself away from the table and stepped onto the balcony. The view would have been spectacular on any other occasion.

The wind seemed to laugh at him, but dried the tears that spilled from his eyes.

Reika placed her hand upon his shoulder. "Mamoru".

"I love her so much, Reika," mumbled Mamoru, as Reika pulled his head to her shoulder.

Motoki stood watching from the kitchen. His heart reached out to his friend. He knew it would come, that release, the vent of emotion. He could feel his own cheeks moisten. He brushed the tear away, and contemplated whether to go to them or leave them be. Mamoru would be ready in his own time. Motoki turned his attention to the rest of his coffee and cleaning up.

-------

Later, the two men walked along the cold streets. The cherry blossoms fell yet the beauty was lost on Mamoru. Eventually beauty withered and disappeared, pretty much like everything else.

"So when did you find out?" Mamoru asked quietly.

"About a week ago," replied Motoki. "They came in. She was in tears." Motoki decided it prudent to relate the more animated aspects of that day for another occasion.

The image of his sweet princess crying brought Mamoru's pain to the surface. Her face could personify any emotion; almost make it a living being. Heartache did not suit her angelic features.

"I miss her", he mumbled.

"Get her back then," replied Motoki. He knew that this was the desired response even though it would be rejected. Just agreeing however, wouldn't have been appropriate for the solemnity.

"I can't." Mamoru's voice cracked.

"You might just lose here forever then," Motoki winced as he said this but it needed to be voiced before it got too late to fix things.

"If it will keep her alive..." followed but too low for the blonde man to hear.

-------

He sat in his apartment. It was dark again. He had realised he had been drinking solidly for several days. The pain had just snapped him inside like a cheap toy and he had lost valuable days in a stupor of alcohol induced haze. Day's he could have been trying to win her back or change what the dreams said.

He had had the dream again. It was a dark shrouded man, talking to him, telling him, reasoning with him. Endymion. That name rang out.

He knew that what he did was right, felt it to his very core. So why did it hurt so much?

He needed an out. He had to get away.

Before critical mass, his world crashed back. The telephone was ringing.

Slowly he walked to the dining room area, the phone suspended beside the bench top opening into the kitchen. "Hello, er," he muttered half heartedly into the mouthpiece.

It was his daughter, although he didn't know it then. But how else could one explain the feelings of protection and nurture he held for the child.

Now she was simply a smaller version of her.

"Mamo-chan, can, can I come stay with you." The voice was broken and ragged. "That stupid-head is driving me nuts." Surely the kid knew what was going on, was she deliberately trying to bait her cousin or was she just oblivious?

The man sighed quietly, so the child couldn't hear and took the most fateful step he could, "Sure Chibi-Usa, if you aunt and uncle agree, but please don't call your cousin that." Societal norms aside and despite the dreams, even a small reminder of her might strengthen his resolve.

Various noises of excitement echoed down the phone. Sadly the enthusiasm of the little girl wasn't infectious.

"Bye Mamo-chan". The pink haired child hung up and left the man standing with the receiver to his head, the dial-tone a thud in his ears.

She probably would be told no, it was inappropriate, unsuitable but nonetheless, for her to see him like that, how he was before and was aiming for again, and for his beloved, her, to hear of it, she'd blame herself, probably was already for this whole mess, when he was the bad guy. Never again. Never again would he.

Mamoru smashed the phone back to its cradle, the plastic cracking under the force. He bowed his head, the pain flooding back. But rather than hide, he rode the wave, tried to do his best. It didn't work.

Damnit Usako. She's so like you. So like you. I miss you so much.

-------

**The Pain Of Doubt**

**Chapter One - Boys Night Out**

_"This is not a black and white world_

_To be alive I say that the colours must swirl_

_And I believe that maybe today_

_We will all get to appreciate"_

_Live - "The Beauty of Grey" - Mental Jewellery_

-------

"I tell you Artemis, it's getting to the point where I don't know if I can take it anymore."

The dark haired form of Mamoru Chiba and the sleek white furred personage known as Artemis sat upon the chill park bench looking deep into the muddy sunset suspended before them.

"Well," replied Artemis, "I think you are just being childish." The cat managed to put upon a feline air of aloof authority, one that didn't seem to fit right. The man smiled wanly to himself.

"See, now you sound like Luna".

"Hey," screeched the white cat, coming to his feet, hackles raised in defiance, "Am not!"

"My point," said Mamoru, ignoring the outburst, which had made him feel somewhat validated, "is just that I feel like I'm not needed."

"She wouldn't like it, if she heard that." The 'she' in question didn't need naming. Only one 'she' existed to Mamoru.

"Don't get me wrong, Usako is my light, it's just, just..."

"You being pigheaded?" The cat glanced at him sidelong.

"Quiet cat!" The man growled only half joking. Artemis grinned. Very rarely was the unflappable Chiba Mamoru flapped. Artemis was surprised that he was slightly enjoying himself, even despite the unpleasant nature of the conversation.

"Okay," Mamoru continued, "do you like it when Luna ignores you or belittles you at meetings?"

"Not really but I don't see..." Which was a lie. Artemis could see exactly where this was going but the ground was shaky at best in that neighbourhood.

"Let me finish," interrupted Mamoru. "She is "mean" to you but you love her and she shows her affection away from the others."

While being a rhetorical question, Artemis still blushed, which is, in itself actually quite difficult for a cat to do; yet somehow he managed it. "Now Mamoru I don't know where you..."

"We know you both so well," responded the man, in reply to the cat's unfinished question, "but don't you wish you could stop the whole..."

"Mamoru just get to the point, I have an idea where you are heading". At this point Artemis was starting to become really uncomfortable. Had Luna said something? If not she would assume he had and it would be the dogbox for him; at least metaphorically speaking.

"I feel like I'm in her shadow," mumbled the darkened form of Mamoru. The sun had set and its light was slowing draining from the sky.

"No. That's not true, you raise their spirits and..."

"Say corny stuff whilst posing dramatically on architecture? She always saves my ass."

Artemis sweat dropped. There was a flair for the dramatic in the hero Tuxedo Kamen, but dressing up and going out in public entitled certain unconventional behaviour. That coupled with saving the world on a regular basis.

"Remember, way back at the start," whispered Mamoru, "I would swing in, spout some pseudo-babble, save the day, if required, and my beloved - and then leave after everything had been finished up with."

"Yeahhh" replied the cat quietly, not much liking this turn.

"I miss it. She saves me all the time now. I'm like some sort of male cheerleader."

"HGUh" said the cat. Leotards on the Senshi was one thing...

"You have the same problem; Luna takes an active role and sidelines you because she's afraid you'll botch it up."

Artemis looked under his brows at the disgruntled Chiba.

"I don't like the implication. Your point?" replied the cat acidly. He was aware he had a flippant attitude to supernatural menaces with megalomaniacal tendencies towards world domination, that's who he was. He did not, however, need one of his best friends pointing this out.

"I just don't know anymore Artemis," said Mamoru, rising slowly from the bench and scratching the white feline's chin.

Mamoru Chiba sauntered off into the darkness. His green jacket fading to match the black of his trousers and hair before disappearing into the gloom.

Artemis remained on the bench. It made a bizarre sort of sense. Not the exact phrasing Mamoru had given it, but the concept. Back in the day, when it was just himself and Sailor V, he was like a feline Charlie, she was his angel. Then, when Jadeite had began his campaign, he and Venus were relegated to the sidelines. Whilst she became the acting commander in Usagi's wake, he was left to a simply observational position, more so then Luna who maintained an active role in most situations. That could be expected considering her relationship to the Princess, despite the fact he was the better tactician. Yet whenever he made a valid comment or suggestion it was brushed aside as a nonsensical babbling and ignored. He felt like a little brother, tolerated and put up with but generally beyond notice.

Mamoru had always been active, albeit enigmatic, almost like the hero with no name, who comes in, says his line and disappears again, leaving everyone feeling better. But in the end he hadn't had what was required and had been subjected time and again to the mechanization of both their enemies and himself. First the Beryl / Metallia entity and then himself, both present and future. The list went on. Was his simple worry some sort of fear that he wouldn't come back one day, or that Usagi would go out in his place, trying to save him? He knew it wasn't glory Mamoru wanted, far from it; it came from somewhere else, this feeling, this upset

Artemis didn't know the way the human mind worked; it had been a while since he had one. Still, all too familiar feelings needed resolving.

He stretched from his taunt standing position and jumping from the bench disappeared into the undergrowth.

-------

"Am I selfish? Why can't I get this feeling out of my head? I love her so much but I resent her. Why? Why do I feel like I need to save her always? Is it because I can't stand the thought of losing her? Lose her to whom? Someone else? Or just losing her? Am I like some sort of Neanderthal, protecting her against everything? Could I wrap her in cotton wool and keep her warm in my breast pocket? A chauvinist, I am not. Is it some sort of guy thing? Like cars and stuff? Damn me to Hell. Damn me to the Negaverse. Am I jealous? Am I feeling less of a man because she has saved me like a dozen times from death? Can she ever forgive me if she knew I thought like this? Should I just push these feeling away to keep the hurt from her?

(Not like that would work, remember last time, and the dreams Mamoru...)

That's a point. Honesty. Trust. Love. So why do I feel like this? Do I really need to prove myself? Am I proving myself to me or to her? Am I really in her shadow?"

Mamoru's thoughts rushed through his head in a wave of syllables and half-strung sentences. The last time he had felt this bad he had taken a step he regretted to this day, trading off the abyss for his own reality. He had also promised himself never again.

The sombre looking man, his hair flat against his head in the light drizzle, turned from the window of the liquor store and continued down the hazy street.

His melancholic interior dialogue followed him all the way home.

-------

Artemis shared similar thoughts. He considered himself a sensitive new age cat. He didn't begrudge the girls their spotlight. He just felt a little bit underappreciated.

He hadn't before but he did now. Silently cursing Mamoru's incessant paranoia, he sat upon the large stone fence that ran the perimeter of the Juuban Park. The moon overhead was a perfect crescent.

-------

Urawa often thought about Ami. He loved her. Deeply. Yet she pushed him away. Was she scared? If she was - was it of him or for him? She always made last minute excuses and left him hanging. Why did she not just tell him? They shared most everything. He loved her. She loved him; she had almost said it countless times. He knew she loved him. It was so clouded, both his heart and their future.

Of course he knew she was Sailor Mercury, he just didn't see it as a problem.

The youma crystal may have been a part of him, focusing his power of precognition. But once he was freed from the hold of the demon, he had simply to look for his power once more. It was not lost, simply misplaced deep within himself.

Yet above all else, he trusted her. He knew she was intelligent, cunning and unlikely to take risks. But even one slip up and things would vanish in the mists of memory. Melt like ice.

-------

Yuuichirou Kumada was not stupid. He knew how Rei felt even if she didn't. He could see it in her eyes. He had discovered early on in his life that long hair and a vapid expression could circumvent nasty situations. It also let him pay attention to details others lost. He knew all about the weird goings in the vicinity of Juuban and in particular the events in and on Cherry Hill's Hikawa Shrine. The fire readings late at night; Rei slipping out at all hours. He was surprised at first when he figured out Rei's dual identity but it answered his questions. He still laughed inwardly at the way she behaved. So transparent. He was half tempted at times to tell her to cut it out and just take her in his arms. He just wished that the things she did wouldn't scare her so much. He would love to protect her, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew his butt would be kicked quite promptly and in good measure by whatever they fought and the media attempted to disguise.

He wasn't stupid. Shit, no town had as many gas leaks and chemical spills as Juuban.

-------

Grandpa Hino knew as well. He didn't let many people know that he was as sharp as a tack; he felt that being thought of as a perverted old fart was a good disguise. So what if it was true. He knew the first time he saw the Senshi of the Moon, Mercury and Mars on television, blurred by the magicks as the reception was. He was so well trained in the mystic arts that glamour's even as sophisticated as those employed by the Senshi were marginally, if not totally transparent. Still, if he had been looking straight at the TV he would have missed it.

He trusted Rei. He knew she could handle herself. But he also knew the size of her heart and that she would sacrifice her life and her soul to save her friends.

But then again over the years that he had known the girls, he knew the same applied to all of them.

-------

Mamoru sat in his unlit apartment. His eyes were raw. The tears had stopped but he felt as if he had betrayed her. It burnt him to the core.

These thoughts, so alien, like the last time, unwanted and unneeded, simply causing him discomfort, which he knew in turn, would hurt her. So he attempted to deal with them in the way he had dealt with most pain. He pushed it aside, acted like it didn't bother him and then cried in the dark hours, like a child scared from a nightmare, waiting for his parents to hold him and soothe the beasts. But when the beasts lived within and you know your parents aren't coming to save you, you just had to let the fears go.

Before they choked you, you tried to choke them.

-------

**Chapter Two - Collision**

_"Hey I know how bad it can be_

_But I know how good you are_

_Yeah we have no problem, just a feeling"_

_Dave Dobbyn - "Two Fast Cars" - Loyal_

-------

He couldn't shake the feeling. Which was exactly what it was. But the feeling was becoming a problem. He just sat in the unlit room and sulked. He couldn't even think of a nicer way to put it. Nothing glamorous about it.

He felt like he couldn't cut it. He was a distraction to her, a joke. He was insecure. Oh hell, yeah.

"Christ," he though, "if you brainwash a man enough times and he loses himself to himself."

He didn't know who he was anymore; let alone how to be that person.

He knew what he was and who, but the why and wherefore eluded him. The crisis of conscience everyone has. The sudden change in their behaviour, a new style, a new haircut. Testing the boundaries, self-discovery. Self-destruction. It was the same sort of thing; it just depended on the viewpoint. And the end point.

-------

Above her head the moon shone with a pristine radiance that captivated her. In times when she was troubled, she would stare at the orb of the night, seeking questions from a woman she barely knew, but who had given her everything added with the weight of an unbearable responsibility.

Vapidity and naiveté aside, she had a shrewd mind. She knew he was upset about something. He had become abstract. Warm when he was with her, alone Usagi, the klutzy girl he deeply loved. His eyes told her as much. But when the phantom personage of her alter ego was sparked or even mentioned, his eyes spoke a different song altogether. A song of pain, mourning and loss. Did he believe that every time she said those words, she ceased to be? She could understand his confusion. Duality of character had caused him troubles unparalleled in the literal sense. Many futures beckoned them both with countless trials.

Her seeming vapidity disguised her fear that they would be found lacking. Her faith in humanity's innate goodness and her love for him carried her on.

She was scared for him. But also of him. She could she the pattern emerging, the distance growing like it had three years ago. And now she couldn't blame it on a little girl from the distant future, or a nightmare. She could blame herself though. And she did.

What had she done to push him away?

-------

He was scared for her. And scared of what she would become, whether then, in the height of the glory they had glimpsed, she would need him, or even want him.

-------

The white cat pounced languidly over the rooftops towards his destination. The light rain speckling his coat like a myriad of diamonds. He was unsure of why he was doing this, but he was certain it was the right course to sail. He loved her dearly, yet what Mamoru had said had struck certain chords, which had exploded into a full-blown concerto of doubt.

Bracing himself gently on the gutter, he sailed gracefully towards the tree. The thick bark gave him ample hold as his claws dug deep into the tree's skin. Pausing to fix his hair, as he thought of it, shaking the excess dew from his back, he walked out towards the windowsill that bordered the tree. Sitting quietly beside the window and out of sight, he waited.

He felt like there was a face in the window. It was Usagi, yet she didn't see him, nor he her. Her eyes were fixed on the heavens and the moon. Tears reflecting the sheen of moonlight glistened in her eyes.

-------

The black cat was annoyed. It was common for her actually. Still that didn't necessitate her liking the fact. She knew something was bothering her young charge, yet the stubbornness of the Moon Princess could exceed that of her priestess friend. Realising quite early in the conversation that she would find little satisfaction the black cat had grumpily left the room and exited the house via the kitchen.

Sitting outside, in front of the living room ranch slider, contemplating how to spend her evening; since Usagi was in no mood, Luna was adrift in her own thoughts.

Quietly and almost as if flying, a single cherry blossom wafted down to land in between her front paws. Surprised, Luna looked up. The face of the white cat looked down on her solemnly.

"Artemis, I am really not in the mood for company."

The white cat however had not even heard his name. He had already left across the steep incline of the roof. He had been resting silently against the side of the house, the tree by Usagi's window masking him from sight and providing cover from the storm that seemed imminent.

"Drat!" cursed the slight black cat, "Why does everyone have to get angsty at the same time?"

The urge to ignore the tomcat poked into her mind but while the joker, Artemis was not one for needless moping. Sighing softly, she quickly scaled the drainpipe and made off over the rooftop after him.

-------

The park was quiet. It was midnight after all. The moon made the white cat's form appear silver in the backdrop of dark grass. Like a marble statuette given life.

Luna had followed Artemis closely and her worry had increased as the distance they travelled increased. Unnecessary that's what it was. Whilst by no means lazy, why did they have to travel all this way? Obviously he had something on his mind but was struggling with how to begin.

She stopped to catch her breath and being momentarily deafened by inane cracking as she disturbed a family of crickets, she did not see him pull a swift U-turn and disappear into the branches above her.

He knew bottling it up would hurt. More than it already did. "Better her not see me like this".

"Luna," his voice catching in his throat "how do you feel about me?"

Startled the female cat below him leapt two feet straight up.

"What, Artemis!" Composing herself, she automatically slipped into the no nonsense tone she used for the Senshi, "You drag me out all over Juuban and then ask..."

Artemis did not need this. "Don't even start" he hissed at her, "I just want a straight answer."

"I, I, I" whimpered the female cat.

"Well" screeched the male, his temper finally getting the better of him. His anger had slowly been building since his discussion with Mamoru and had been steadily overcoming his reason.

A sob wracked him and awoke him to his error. Tears began streaming down his face; unashamedly he choked out, "Luna I need to know!"

Luna was smart. Then again so was Artemis, smarter than her even. She had an edge though, that he lacked. He needed to please others, while she would do whatever it took to get the job done. This however, she sensed, was not a time to hide behind the matronly visage.

For the first time, ever, she said, "I love you Artemis."

Like a weight had been lifted and his anguish released, he collapsed upon the bow he was rested on, gently sobbing.

Luna nimbly skitted up the thick trunk of the elm tree and walked to the curled form of the male cat. The last two of their kind. She nuzzled his soft underbelly and curled up beside him, her head on his chest.

He would be ready to talk soon.

-------

Fitfully sleeping, his dreams echoed an emptiness that couldn't be filled. Her shining light illuminated all.

-------

Morning or at least a stark imitation.

Mamoru stood on his balcony; thick fisherman's jersey and jeans insulated his body from the chill outside. His coffee tasted thick and syrupy, the perfect kick-start for the morning. Looking off toward the rising sun, it reminded him of a runny egg.

"Breakfast" he mumbled, scratching his chin, stubbled as it was, and entered the apartment.

His kitchen was immaculate. Not as large or well stocked as Makoto's yet enough for him and occasionally a guest. Then again Makoto cooked for legions, or at least the impression of one. In all his time with them, he could never fathom how the girls could eat in such large quantities and still look perfect.

That derailed his train of thought promptly.

Minutes later he realised he was still standing in the kitchen, cold linoleum shocking his feet, while he mind wandered. His coffee now cold sat at his right hand.

Muttering under his breath, he tipped the cold syrupy mass down the drain and dropped his mug in the sink.

Five minutes later he was walking into the cold morning air, hooded polar fleece jacket pulled tight, destination somewhere, yet nowhere in particular.

-------

Something's never change. Even though she was a lady, she cursed. Luna hadn't been there to berate her getting up late this morning. The black feline had been doing that for the last three years and rarely missed a day. This worried Usagi. Her friend was more responsible than this.

"Humph", a mirthless chuckle sounded in Usagi's throat. Here she was talking responsibility. She was late for school. Again. Now that was rich.

It was expected however. Her teacher's put up with her tardiness due to one simple fact. She had, in the last year become a student of exceptional merit. While nowhere near as gifted a student as Ami Mizuno, she regularly scored in the top 10 of her peers.

Her mind wandering, yet never as fast as her feet, she bowled around the upcoming corner at a speed that made stopping at short notice negligible.

Minus obstruction of course.

The bundled up man wasn't even looking up and just walking straight ahead. His hooded polar fleece obscured his face, yet the air around him spoke familiarity.

Usagi ploughed straight into him.

Pulling herself off the hapless individual and profusely apologizing, she realised that the man's hood had fallen behind his head, exposing his rich dark hair.

"Mamo-chan!" she exclaimed, grasping him in a bear hug.

He stood dazed for a split second. Enough for her to notice. He shook himself out of his reverie. "Usako, where did you come from?" His smile seemed to warm the cold day.

"I ran straight into you, around the corner!" she said. A cold feeling in the pit of her stomach took over. She thought that it was either hunger or worry. But looking at his eyes once more she saw the pain deep within their blue depths. Worry.

"Oh I didn't notice," he replied, "you had better hurry on to school, ne?"

"Um, yeah sure," Usagi replied, "Are you okay Mamo-chan?"

Mamoru however had already started walking, his eye glazing over as he retreated into his thoughts.

-------

By lunchtime, Usagi's worry had solidified into a full-blown stomach-ache. Even the tempting delights of Makoto's lunchbox were unable to shake her stomach's stubborn refusal to eat.

Ami, Minako and Makoto glanced at each other over Usagi's odangos. Usagi was currently slumped over, her head resting in her arms.

The look of worry the trio shared was broken by Minako, who motioned the other two off to the side.

The Senshi of Love and Beauty, to all outward appearances, appeared to be the quintessential "dumb blonde". However, like Usagi, she had turned her grades around and was preparing to study psychology once she left high school.

"Um guys," Minako began "this is kinda like how she went when Mamoru and her had that whole 'dreams from the future spelling our doom' and all that, fiasco."

"Well yes, it does appear to be like that, but last time she spent weeks crying, whereas now she appears to be in a state of worry."

Makoto remained silent. The Senshi of Thunder had learned to curb her temper. Somewhat. Besides that, she doubted that Mamoru, now a friend to them all would have slipped back so far.

The three girls returned to Usagi, who had not moved at all.

Minako placed her hand on Usagi's shoulder. Usagi didn't even flinch.

"Usagi-chan, what's the matter?" Minako said. It was blunt but to the point.

Usagi looked up and two glistening tears blossomed in her eyes and rolled gently down her cheeks.

-------

Mamoru sat on the bench in the park. It was bloody cold. He didn't notice it though. This was bad, he knew. He hadn't been like this when Endymion sent him the dreams. That had been a cool detachment on the surface, with raging pain underneath. Not to mention the unfortunate issue of the alcohol.

This numbness scared him. It was like what the alcohol gave him. Except the alcohol numbed the thoughts as well. The thoughts now surged. He wanted to scream. He just couldn't be bothered to.

How long had he sat here. He should have been hungry and thirsty but he wasn't, it was like he was outside of time.

The soft crunching of gravel under feet was heard. With cool detachment he deduced the walker to be female, average height and weight. The pattern of the steps indicated he knew her.

A warm hand rested upon his shoulder.

The hand stayed there for a short time, and then the slight female form sat down beside him.

"Wanna talk?" the voice said.

To Mamoru the voice sounded like that of a drowning person, distorted and unable to reach the surface.

The female just sat there. Offering comfort by her presence.

He stared out over the boating lake into nothingness. A soundless sigh escaping his lips.

-------

Rei entered Makoto's apartment. After Galaxia, all the scouts where given keys by Makoto. Her apartment had become a sort of safe house, and relay point. All the scouts kept a change of clothing and other items here, in case of emergencies.

Makoto, arms around a sleeping Usagi, looked up as Rei entered. Minako was plugged into the stereo while Ami was 'reading' a book. Both however where asleep.

"Well, said Makoto as Rei entered the kitchen.

Rei signalled Makoto to follow her and Makoto moved slowly, so as not to wake Usagi. Usagi mumbled Mamoru's name and made a grab for Makoto's hand. She dodged it and followed after Rei.

"Well?" She asked again.

"I have no idea," said Rei, concern clearly written on her face. "Although I sense no dark energy."

"That's something at least" said Makoto.

"Something is bothering him though," said Rei, "But I have an idea. Will these guys be okay without us for a couple of hours?"

"Sure," said Makoto, "Usagi cried herself to sleep an hour or so ago and Minako and Ami crashed out shortly after. They all rung home, saying we were studying."

"Excellent", said Rei, "Lets go."

"Where?"

"My place."

-------

The sacred fire burned brightly when Rei and Makoto entered the shrine, as if greeting old friends. Grandpa Hino looked up from the embers he was contemplating and rose to greet the two girls.

"Little late for sightseeing," he grinned.

"Sorry Grandpa," said Rei, "I need to check something out."

"I trust your judgement," he said, "just be careful granddaughter, any fire can be dowsed eventually."

Rei looked confused as the old man slowly left the room, chuckling quietly to himself.

"He seems to be getting more and more cryptic every day," said Makoto.

Rei mumbled something derogatory under her breath. Startling herself with her language she apologized to the flames and went to don her robes. Her banter with the old man helped her to forget that with each day, age took him further along his road.

Makoto went to sit quietly in the corner.

Rei, now appropriately clad, placed herself in front of the fire. She cleared her thoughts of all but one thing. Mamoru Chiba.

-------

He had been an emotional wreck. She had no idea how he had ended up like that but she had managed to quench his fears, so it was alright for the time being. She was half contemplating finding the reason behind his fears and dealing with it. It had taken a long time to calm him down and after she had gotten home, and fallen asleep, she now felt better.

Now that she was awake, she proceeded to check in on her charge. Who wasn't in bed.

Leaving the house, quickly and quietly, she headed to the Hikawa Shrine.

-------

**Chapter Three - Resolutions**

_"There are no unlockable doors, there are no unwinnable wars_

_There are no unrightable wrongs or unsingable songs_

_There are no unbeatable odds, there are no believable Gods_

_There are no unnameable names, shall I say it again"_

_Ozzy Osbourne - "I Just Want You"_

-------

Luna arrived just as Rei was wishing Makoto goodnight.

"Humph Have hmph you hmph seen hmph Usagi?" said Luna, promptly collapsing.

Makoto scooped the lithe black cat into her arms and made her way into the night.

-------

He lay on his couch. Exhaustion had overcome him. His tears had left large watermarks upon the cushion his cheek rested on.

-------

The three slumbering Senshi slept on. The textbook was now on its side as Ami had slumped over. Her gentle breath rustled the pages like an autumn wind in the leaves. Minako had somehow managed to get her hair tangled in the headphone cord, a winsome smile on her face.

Tears crawled slowly down Usagi's cheeks. Pain and worry had followed her into her dreams.

A metallic clack sounded and the front door of Makoto's apartment opened slowly, a dozing cat, carefully held in the arms of the tall brunette.

Gently scratching behind the black feline's ear, Makoto placed Luna down beside her ward. Luna having heard the story on the way over, felt a small tear creep down her furred cheek. She gently bunted her charge, who nuzzled into the fur on her back.

Makoto smiled sadly, untangled Minako gently, closed Ami's book, turned around and went to bed.

-------

Morning dawned crisp and clear over the horizon, the remaining clouds fleeing in terror of the great orange orb.

A loud pounding resounded around Mamoru Chiba's apartment. He awoke slowly and cautiously. Something wasn't right.

What?

He stood up and realised he was fully clothed and in his living room.

The pounding persisted.

Mamoru rubbed the back of his head.

No. Wasn't a headache.

Still more pounding.

Ah. Door. This seemed to have become commonplace.

Not being a morning person, Mamoru had slight difficulties navigating himself to the door.

Opening the door, he found a bemused looking Motoki standing there.

Mamoru looked at him quizzically, turned around and walked back into his apartment.

Motoki calmly shrugged, took off his shoes and entered. He proceeded directly to the kitchen where he promptly began boiling the jug for coffee.

-------

Four girls walk calmly down the sidewalk. School beckoned ahead of them. All four had the same thing on their minds however and the pursuit of academia was not it.

While their leader had showered and made herself ready for school, Makoto had informed the others of Rei's vision, or at least as best as she could understand it.

According to Rei, the Great Fire had conveyed images of suffering, pain and doubt, overshadowed by an all consuming love. Rei had been correct that no evil was present.

They had decided to spare Usagi the details until she was a little more composed.

-------

Mamoru sat across from Motoki at his kitchen table. Motoki was concerned. Mamoru had missed his lectures the last three days. He also looked like shit. Four days worth of stubble had accumulated on Mamoru's face making it appear he had been soundly beaten.

"So what's bothering you Tuxedo Kamen?" said Motoki after five minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Mamoru looked up startled. Then shrugged. Taking a deep breath, he started his story.

-------

That afternoon, a freshly shaven and newly suited Mamoru Chiba stepped out of his apartment building into the sun. Breathing deeply he pondered the days events. So Motoki knew. That was an unexpected surprise but a pleasant one nonetheless. He needed that, a confidante, and who better than his oldest friend. Apparently he had deduced his friend's identity during the whole Dead Moon Circus debacle. Obviously Mamoru wasn't as careful as he liked to think he was.

His friend had noticed similarities in the movements of both Tuxedo Kamen and Mamoru Chiba, similarities in speech and the obvious injuries that Mamoru sometimes sustained.

He had told Motoki the whole story. He had only really needed to fill in details. Motoki already guessed as to the Senshi's alter egos.

They had talked for hours.

Married life had given Motoki an insight. He shared it with Mamoru. Basically it was just one simple concept. Honesty.

-------

Usagi had heard the story from the other Senshi by this time. She was detached. She knew he loved her. She had never doubted it. Now that she knew what was wrong with him, she could help him.

Her milkshake sat untouched.

The food-court of the mail was abuzz with small conversations and chatter, yet to Usagi it appeared that she sat in a bubble of tranquillity. The look of determination on the face of the odango haired blonde, set her friends mind's at ease.

Usagi was going to be fine.

-------

As the sun was setting, Usagi bade farewell to her friends as she made her way into the quiet park, taking a short cut towards home. The brilliant red eye of Sol, shined like a giant ruby, illuminating the clouds in a peaceful shade of pink with a hint of peach.

Sighing loudly, Usagi looked up towards the sunset.

A man stood looking at her. He was tall and well built. A black cape billowed dramatically around him, dissolving like smoke upon the wind.

He slowly walked down the green hillside until he stood a few feet from her.

"I am sorry Usako," he said, his heart in his eyes.

Answering with her arms she wrapped him in an embrace.

-------

He turned his head to look at her. The moonlight caught her blue eyes so that they shimmered like two stars plucked gently from the heavens.

She turned her head, and looked at him. It had taken him some strength to tell her this. He was afraid he would hurt her. To her it had hurt not being able to help him. She told him so.

"Mamo-chan," she continued, "ever since I meet you, you made me wish to better myself, to both annoy you and please you respectively." He grinned slightly at this, and was about to interrupt, when Usagi placed a finger over his lips.

"This made me stronger, as Tuxedo Kamen you believed in me, and as Mamoru Chiba you made me better myself and you loved me unconditionally. When I found out about the past and found you I became whole. When I kept losing you I nearly died, yet kept going because it was what you had shown me. You made me who I was and who I am now. You are a part of me. You are my support, my love... my Prince."

Her hand gently stroked his cheek.

A tear ran slowly down his cheek as he pulled her unresisting into a passionate kiss that could have melted suns.

He had found his peace, his Serenity.

-------

**Prologue A**

**TRANQUILITY BENDING**

_"Oh now feel it coming back again_

_Like a rolling thunder chasing the wind_

_Forces pulling from the centre of the earth again_

_I can feel it"_

_Live - "Lightning Crashes" - Throwing Copper_

-------

He hated the rain. Well, he didn't really hate it, disliked it intensely; and only when he was caught out in it. Worse however, was the lightning and thunder. While watching a storm was relaxing being in the midst of one was a nerve-wracking experience. The young man's gaze continuously alternated from the road, to the sky and to the pushbike beneath him. He couldn't help but shudder, partially from the cold, partially from a deep dread, an almost primal fear of nature.

"Metal conducts electricity," his mind mumbled to itself, mentally inaudible "and I'm the only metal about for miles". The chill drops of rain cooled his lips and sparsely stubbled chin.

His tone was slightly disgusted. He knew he should have learned to drive, it was times like this that the fear of being behind a ton of steel and aluminium was an impediment. Damnit, he knew he should have learned as soon as he was able. Complacency on his part but, well, damnit.

Almost as a response to his fear, like a nightmare creature sniffing the blood scent of fear, an arc of blue flame careened across the expanse of the heavens. The pedals seemed to leap to life under his feet, his legs involuntarily increasing their circuit. The rain was obscuring his vision, the cold seeds of sky dangling on his eyelashes, creating sharp facets in his line of sight, distorting the black and white reality.

Thunder. Lightning.

He quickened his pace. His knees hurt. The bicycle seat was too low for his height.

Thunder. Lightning.

"Please don't hit me - please don't hit me - please don't hit me," the words echoed silently in his head, as the burn of wet muscles were pushed aside for speed and the possibility of home.

Thunder. Lightning.

"Please don't hit me - Please don't hit me - Please don't hit me" The quiet inner voice lamented, over and over. Consciously the boy knew that the odds were several million to one, but the situation wasn't one for rational thought. It was late and he was cold, wet, tired and hungry.

A peal of thunder similar to the bells of a gargantuan cathedral toiled their mournful dirge directly over head.

"Oh shit..." The quiet brain cussed.

White static.

-------

The quiet suburban neighbourhood of Tokyo's Juuban District was lit by eight o'clock sunlight. Parents had gone to work, children had gone to play and those that stayed at home were finishing the complimentary cup of coffee that signified success at getting all those early morning chores completed. Washing needed to be hung out and the low ranch sliders were being opened to the early spring air, crisp and filled with the smell of life returning to the soil after the winter.

Peace is relative, and Ikuko Tsukino knew this better than most parents.

Like clockwork. Every day, the same time, and the same situation.

An incomprehensible scream (loosely translated along lines of being late) issued from a blonde haired girl as she threw herself out of bed, down the hallway and into the humid warmth and mist of the bathroom.

The long blonde pigtails streamed behind her as she moved out of her bedroom and into the hallway, her sleep loosened odangos bouncing on her head like tumbleweeds. Shutting the door behind her, the young woman peeled off her pyjamas and stepped into the heated stream of water.

Strangely enough, she had never needed to turn the shower on. Not since Junior High School anyway. Her parents often joked that a watch could be set to the scream that shattered the relative peace of the neighbourhood. Her mother had merely made it a habit to turn the shower on two minutes prior to allow the water to come to temperature. Roughly at about eight thirteen every morning.

A small-framed black cat sat on her cushion in the living room staring at the ceiling.

The crashing had stopped, as per usual, as the blonde woman above stood under the showerhead. The shower was almost directly above the cat's head from her position on the pillow, set slightly to the side of the ranch slider in a spot that had all day sun. The usual pleasure of the beam was regularly hampered by the sitcom of waking.

Noises above her had disturbed her nap, noises that any other being would be able to acclimatize too, except this was a rather special cat with a rather special job. Slip, bump, crash. Her charge had made it out of the shower, albeit less that gracefully. She had from the sounds overhead, made it out of the shower, slipped on her own wet feet, grabbed the towel rail and fallen to the floor.

Slam, pound, pound, pound, wompfh. Dressed and fallen over, indicative by the clatter. Humans seemed to make a habit of forgetting they only had two legs and a very fine centre of balance when their minds were preoccupied.

Crash. Too fast out of her room and hitting the opposite wall. The child was almost like a newborn deer, all legs. Even now, over seventeen years of age, her motor skills lacked.

The cat, Luna by name, stretched lazily. Shaking out her fur, she silently padded to the hallway, slightly out of the way of the landing where stairs met floor. Her charge would soon appear.

Pound, pound, pound. A tallish young woman, eyes bright blue, her rich golden blonde hair in a style definite to her, two balls of hair with tails high on her head, came down the steps in a disjointed fashion, three steps then one then two and so forth.

And splat, pretty much just as the cat had expected. A blessing the girl didn't bruise easily really.

Face first into the carpet on the landing, school uniform in disarray.

"It is a school holiday, you know?" said Luna. The cat's face and voice had a matronly tone and set to it, conveying authority and warmth, warmth that sadly, was all too often hidden. The black cat's face was level with the prostrate girl's, planted in the carpet. Cats learn quickly, and young woman with momentum and energy falling on you is a lesson that requires no refresher course.

With that her charge, Tsukino Usagi let out a brief high-pitched wail of indignation, and sulkingly ascended the staircase.

Luna shook her head and went back to her cushion. Perhaps she had done something bad in one of her nine lives. Although, heaven knew, this was probably a bit much in the way of punishment.

Another day in Tokyo had begun.

-------

The raven-haired young priestess stood upon the top of the steps leading to the Hikawa Shrine. Her black hair was tied loosely behind her head with a piece of red cloth, matching the trim of her pure white Miko robes. The white, crisp uniform was becoming uncomfortably warm in the burgeoning heat, and she pondered how she had ended up here once more. Her grandfather and that lazy rock music wannabe handyman Yuuichirou had gone off for the day to some sort of "religious retreat". She would have preferred to called it fishing and drinking, doubting in her cynical way, that much religion would actually be involved whatsoever. The pair had become over the year almost as a father and son, similar to the fact that she herself saw her grandfather as more a father than her own had ever been. The sporadic girlhood distaste for the bumbling musician had grown into something she hadn't originally been comfortable with.

Locked in remembrance, the sunlight was swallowed by her dark hair, making the depths of it seem a midnight purple, matching the cloaked depths of her eyes.

The steps beneath her descended at a leisurely pace towards the street below, with leaves strewn in a kaleidoscopic array upon them. She needed a broom.

As she turned to go and get the broom, more often than not, now, her weapon of choice, a rustling sound upon the archway above her head startled her out of her melancholy. Two dark birds settled down to perch, Deimos the raven, shaking his wings and Phobos, his constant companion, landing silently beside him.

One of the birds screeched as the maiden, Hino Rei, looked questioningly at the pair.

"Hello?!" she heard a voice call out from below. She knew who it would be. Her friends and she were, or had, been planning to spend the day together before her grandfather had disappeared early that morning, an empty refrigerator and a note, testimony to his departure.

Rei looked down the steps. Coming up at a sedate walk were Aino Minako and Kino Makoto. They both seemed pleased about something. Rei was lost momentarily, taking in the details of the day, which besides her being lumbered with temple duties, still looked full of promise. The blonde, Mina, had a red bow in her silky hair and Mako; her deep chestnut locks were pull back in a tight ponytail. Both were dressed casually, the blonde in a red baby-doll dress, the brunette in light blue jeans and a forest green midriff top. What were they so happy about?

"Good morning, Rei" spoke a voice at her ankle. Rei leaped sideways and glared balefully at the cat how had startled her. Artemis, the white tomcat, sat upon his haunches beaming widely at her. Both Makoto and Minako were laughing at Rei, uncharacteristically caught off guard.

"That was not funny," said Rei, as both ravens flew off into the sakura blossoms, frightened by the loud noises. Makoto and Minako had reached the top step.

"Do you have plans today Rei?" asked Mina in her rich voice. Almost like butterscotch, it matched her hair and beautiful face perfectly.

"No," said Rei grumpily, "just all the work those men have left me with".

"Forget it," said Makoto, "you deserve a break, exams are over and its time to have some fun. Besides I have an idea as to what will cheer you up."

"What's that?" asked Rei acidly. Having already been the butt of one joke today, she was reluctant to walk blindly into a second.

"An old friend's back in town" grinned Minako, her left eye closing in an overly theatrical wink. Drama queen.

-------

Usagi felt what seemed like rain upon her face. At last recollection, she was inside the house, in her bedroom as a matter of fact, so unless some tornado straight from The Wizard of Oz had ripped the roof off, she was imagining it.

It got more persistent however. And she hadn't been dreaming along any nautical lines.

She grunted and rolled over. Her pink tongue was hanging out on the upward side of a snore when she felt something soft yet sharp on her lips.

She mumbled something about washing and rolled over again. What had previously been slight drizzle was now a downpour.

Shaking sleep off like a lead blanket Usagi sat up, shaking her hair and rubbing her face vigorously.

Laughter, and quite a lot of it, came from nearby.

Rei, Makoto, Minako and Chiba Usagi sat smirking at her. Usagi took a deep breath and proceeded to berate her friends and cousin, "What do you think you are doing in my bedroom, I'm not up yet, get out and leave me alone!"

Chibi-Usa, hair matching Usagi's perfectly beside the colour and length and the inverted ice-cream cone odangos, said, "We're not in you room."

Usagi finally awake, looked about. She was lying under her large rabbit cover duvet on the front lawn under the sprinkler. Needless to say she screamed and ran into the house.

Makoto stood and walked towards the garden hose, turning the tap off. "Chibi-Usa, that was a dirty trick."

"It was funny though," interjected Minako.

"Papa thought so too, but only after the sprinklers stopped and he had gotten dry."

Rei and her companions all stood, smiles on their faces as they went towards the house, in time to meet their damp, bunny pyjama wearing blonde friend on her way back out. The older blonde girl, several blades of grass stuck to her cheek, scooped the smaller pink haired girl child into her arms and cried into her neck, muttering about missing her cousin and her daughter as well as cruel tricks and practical jokes.

-------

**Prologue B**

**FIVE MONTHS LATER... AND THEN SOME**

_"I tried so hard and got so far_

_But in the end it doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall and lose it all_

_But in the end it doesn't even matter"_

_Linkin Park - "In The End" - Hybrid Theory_

-------

He lay broken in the smoking crater. The smell of death wafted around him like it had become part of the air itself, cloying his nostrils with its acrid reek. The fire and lightning of the battle sheeted across the sky like some crazed aurora effect. He could have put it down to hallucination, but he knew better.

His stomach wound oozed blood steadily; his breathing had become ragged. He could see his dim reflection in the muddy puddle at the bottom of the crater he had propped himself against. He looked like he should already be dead.

Turning his gaze towards the side, he glanced across the battlefield. His comrades fought valiantly, yet the forces of the Queen ran them down like a scythe does wheat. He could see some of the planetary banners being tossed about in the wind like rags, other's being crushed into the dust by merciless feet.

He coughed, the rich metallic tang of blood filling his mouth. He spat.

It would not be much longer.

He shivered. It was cold on the moon. The atmosphere was as rich as that of the Earth, yet it was not home. His tunic had been shredded when his stomach had been lacerated, his enemy paying for the wound with its life. The only spot on his tunic that shone like new was the emblem above his heart that marked his position as Captain of the Outer Guard.

His King and Queen had ordered him to stay and guide from the sidelines. He had argued with his friends, his rulers, that his presence would inspire morale. They had simply nodded. He was his mother's son. Normally he would have been ordered, but today, yesterday, a week ago, how long had it been? Well, it was different this time.

Coughing once more, his long straight blonde hair fell over his face. He hunched himself over, cramps invading his sanity.

"No matter the amount, the times I see such reckless slaughter it all seems pointless." a female voice, deep and melodic said.

Struggling to look up, he saw her, clad in black and green, a green so deep as to match her hair, almost black. The staff she held was planted into the soil by her feet. It struck him that it looked so much like a key, he was shocked he hadn't noticed it before. He tried to suppress a laugh, knowing it would rage out of him, unbridled into the night. The world around them was almost frozen, moving at a pace akin to naught.

"Do not worry, it is simply a bending of the rules, slipping between the moments."

He laughed, the maniacal humour gone, leaving it bitter and dry. A hollow sound from what should have been now, by rights, his dead and cold lips. He struggled to find his voice, "Like Mother always said, 'Whenever Pluto plays with time, you can expect trouble.' Or something like that."

"That does indeed, sound like your mother." replied the Senshi Of Time.

"The others..." he croaked his words hanging.

"Gone, The Fell Queen cannot," Meioh Setsuna paused, "will not win, Serenity has placed wards. Sacrifices made shall not be made in vain. This will not happen again, or at all."

"Cryptic." Ward's would only last so long, they both knew that and as soon as their maker passed, they would be nothing, much like the bloodied cause he had fought for.

"Quite," she replied, "but I have a task for you Naydar."

"Setsuna, I am, as you can plainly see, nearly dead."

She laughed, a rich trilling sound, out of place on the scorched and bloodied field of battle.

"I have looked and seen, Naydar, and you have work behind you that remains unfinished."

He stared at her, questioning. He had only seen her cry once, and now the tears streamed down her face. He lifted his hand to her. She clasped it in her warm, living one.

Looking him in the eyes, she shook her head. "I am sorry, so sorry."

Behind her, the Time Staff rose, of its own accord, from the soil, the Garnet Orb, pulsing a quiet almost forlorn shade of pink.

He did not recognise the feel the Staff exuded. This was different.

"I will explain earlier, but know now, for that I am sorry."

The voice trickled off as his eyelids drooped and the sounds of war and chaos entered his ears like a siege.

He felt a gentle tug at his neck, followed by a wrenching heave and he fell backwards, the light and life both slipping away in a blur.

-------

It was a special day.

Tsukino Usagi decided this upon waking. The world had stopped needing it's heroes a little over one-year ago. Today, she ceased to be a child and would become a woman. Eighteen years old.

The sun gently intruded into her sleep-numbed brain, as she slowly began to access the world around her.

Shadow.

Shadow filled her gaze. Opening her eyes slowly, unsure of what to expect, she found the black slinky form of a cat. Luna.

The cat gently leaned towards Usagi's nose and placed its wet nose against the tip of Usagi's dry and warm one. Usagi squealed. Luna nose was also cold.

Leaping aside to avoid the thrashing of limbs and the muted mumblings. Luna rested upon her haunches and glanced towards the heaving duvet.

Two long slim legs appeared from out the side of the bed, followed by coverlets being thrown to reveal a now thoroughly awake Usagi.

Luna walked over to Usagi and gently bunted against her leg. Usagi leaned down and picked the cat up, looking it directly in the face, its hind legs dangling.

"Hello Luna. How nice of you to wake me."

"Happy Birthday, Your Highness."

Usagi promptly dropped the cat. Luna looked up at her from the floor, and regaining her usual tone of address for her owner "Honestly Usagi, I try to be nice and this is..."

The cat was unable to finish as it was grabbed in a fierce hug and danced around the room.

-------

"Beop."

A room. Quiet, sterile and chill. A low humming could just be heard, emanating from a small bank of machines against one wall.

"Beop", a small sound pierced the quiet. Followed by another, more rhythmic yet staccato. A simple beat.

The figure was covered up to its chest in a plain white blanket, standard hospital issue.

The figure had been in this bed for nearly five months. Coma. The body had been overloaded by neural impulses and had shut down aside from its more basic functions. The brain was alive but was almost trapped in the shell it had once commanded.

It was a pitiful figure to witness. Once powerful and young, now weak and drawn.

Countless prayers and wishes had been said over this body and for it, but its wandering soul had yet to return home.

It never would.

"Beop."

-------

Yes, today was indeed special. All her friends had come to wish her the best. Her confidantes, her support, her anchors. All. She was deeply touched by this.

The open marquee, holding this celebration was lit by the glorious light of the sun, almost smiling at them, as if, he too, shared a part of their jubilation.

Chiba Mamoru, the metaphorical tall, dark and handsome twirled his lovely fiancée-to-be in his arms as they danced to the slow orchestra composition played by their dear friends Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru. The pair were enthralled in their music, the statuesque shorthaired blonde behind her baby grand and the limber aquamarine haired virtuoso behind her Stradivarius. It was their gift to their Princess, a song of hope and love and appreciation, gained through heartache and loss.

More than a celebration of one birth, it was almost a celebration of life itself.

Tomoe Hotaru stood to the side, looking at the dancing couples. Mamoru and Usagi were like a centrepiece in a mosaic, dancingly composed of light silks and dark suits. The small quiet girl watched silently, her dark hair and eyes taking all the joy around her in, but in her dark dress, she was like a shadow in the eaves of the forest. A serious girl, yet she had an abundance of love, yet to her, it more often meant pain. She was content to watch.

Reika and Motoki Andrews danced gently to the strains of the beautiful violin and piano piece, their brown haired heads closer together. Today he had exchanged his casual jeans and shirt for suit and tie. His wife more comfortable in the earth colours of khaki, lightened his universe in her blue velvet dinner dress. Umino and Naru attempted to dance, Umino managing two steps out of three, his thick lenses glasses fogged in concentration, his brown hair limp and with Naru leading, her fiery red hair and dress like a small conflagration on the dance floor.

Kino Makoto beamed with pride as young and old alike saluted her culinary achievements. Convinced at the last minute to forgo the responsibility of chef, she had donned a sheer forest green dress, highlighted by the small rosebud earrings she always wore and the splash of proud embarrassment on her cheeks. Mizuno Ami, her blue haired head and dress matching seamlessly sat with Urawa, both looking slightly uncomfortable in the finery. Urawa ran a hand through his copper brown hair nervously. In all likelihood, quietly discussing some science thing, at a party no less, above the head of all save possibly Motoki and Mamoru.

Hino Rei stood, defiantly ignoring Yuuichirou as he begged for one dance. Her pose had scared away those asking for a dance, her silk dress, deep red, captivating. Yuuichirou, outwardly, wasn't very quick when it came to Rei.

Aino Minako, a radiant sunflower of gold and orange, held court to one side, as boys and men both, bade for her attentions, the occasional straggler being snapped up by one of the Sisters.

Hotaru watched it all. Yes, a good day.

Setsuna stood out on the lawn, looking towards the sky. Today, yes. Her champagne glass rested against her hip almost touched but not quite, a slight half stain of cherry lipstick on the rim.

A ripple, subtle yet felt; then a tear and finally, with the force and surprise of a punch to the stomach, a gash.

-------

The figure under the white hospital blanket twitched, atrophied limbs feeling the spark of life.

"Beop."

The machines began to chirp and whir as signals unfelt assaulted their small mechanical brains.

The figure began to seizure.

Alarms sounded as the body began to crawl slowly out of its darkness.

The machines, keened a high pitched whine, assaulting ears and senses.

The figure sat bolt upright.

And screamed. In agony of a life and a death - all felt, all lost and all but forgotten.

-------

**DISCLAIMERS**

_**Foolish Heart**_ written (finished) 17th June 2000. Compiled 3rd October 2000 and re-edited 26th August 2001. Re-edited again 19th June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong) Standard disclaimers apply. Special thanks to John Hitchens (author of Lightning Crashes). Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Both Sides of the Story by Phil Collins from the album Both Sides is copyright. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

_**The Pain Of Doubt**_ written (finished) 26th May 2000. Compiled 3rd October 2000 and re-edited 23rd June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong) Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. The Beauty of Grey by Live is from the album Mental Jewellery and is copyright Radioactive Records. Two Fast Cars by Dave Dobbyn is from the album Loyal and is copyright CBS Records and Mushroom Music. I Just Want You by Ozzy Osbourne is copyright. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

_**Even Flow Prologue A - Tranquillity Bending**_ started April 2000 and finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Lightning Crashes by Live from the album Throwing Copper is copyright Radioactive Records and Universal Music. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

_**Even Flow Prologue B – Five Months Later And Then Some**_ started April 2000 and finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. In The End by Linkin Park from the album Hybrid Theory copyright WEA International and Warner Records Incorporated. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.


	2. Part 01

**EVEN FLOW**

R E V E R S I O N E D

A BISHOJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON Fan Fiction

By Nicholas Clark (Warriorsong)

_Comprising the original fan fictions Even Flow Chapter 1 - In From The Void, Chapter 2 - Who Are You? Chapter 3 - Back In A Fashion, Chapter 4 - Sense Of Not Belonging, Chapter 5 - Maternal Instinct and Chapter 6 - Rook's Movement_

**1. COMING TOGETHER**

**Chapter One**

**IN FROM THE VOID**

_"In violence, we celebrate again_

_It's four o'clock in the morning, we'll wait again_

_And I'm high all the time_

_I wonder why every time"_

_The Feelers - "Float" - Supersystem_

-------

The scream reverberated throughout the corridors of the small hospital, disturbing patients and staff alike. The shock on the faces of the first to the scene was almost palpable. The patient, a young man, struck by lightening, his body overloaded by the raw electrical fury of the sky, was sitting upright. Breathing raggedly, the young man, looked like he was shaking the dregs of a five month long nightmare from his consciousness.

By rights, even the coma he had been in, was a miracle. The sheer voltage, the time taken from the strike to a hapless motorist finding him, the cold and the exposure. The fact he was awake and looking around with panic and terror in his eyes, was almost inconceivable.

Shaking his head, the young man croaked. His body, weak and atrophied, would not respond. He collapsed back onto the bed. This time sleep claimed his ragged shell.

-------

The festivities had died away to a smaller gathering. The older guests had drifted away, best wishes and farewells drifting on the wind like the confetti on the grass.

Usagi sat quietly on Mamoru's lap, tired yet content. She had her one wish granted today, that all her friends and family be together and share in love and happiness. Sighing gently, she rested her head against Mamoru's tuxedo clad shoulder. This had been the subject of some slight coughs from the Senshi, due to its similarity to his "working clothes". Her pearly silk dress rustled slightly against his dapper suit jacket.

Her friends, the Senshi, milled around quietly discussing the day's events and small niceties. While a closer knit group than they had been, some small reservations still existed between the Inner and Outer branches of her 'court'. Giggling at the thought, she had broken Mamoru out of his contemplation of the top of her head.

"What's the joke Usako?" he asked, thinking she had been dozing.

"No really a joke, Mamo-chan," she replied, "just that they all seem to get on better and have more fun. Life has been good to us all."

"What can I say Sweet Dumpling-Head, you bring out the best in people."

She straightened up and swatted him on the shoulder, standing and walking into the centre of the dance floor. Her white dress shone, accentuating her beauty and radiance, the simple pearl necklace like a line of moons across her throat. Following, he caught her in his arms bending her backwards, and kissed her bodily on the lips.

Breaking apart, he realised where they were. Looking around, he was greeted by smiling faces and wistful gazes. Realisation then fully settled in with its feet on the coffee table, and pointed out Kenji, Usagi's somewhat overprotective (and rumouredly gun-toting) father. Blushing almost scarlet and near dropping Usagi, Mamoru looked like a startled deer in headlights. Those headlights could easily have been on a B Train, one carrying nuclear payload.

Kenji merely lifted his glass as a small smile spread itself across his lips. His wife, Ikuko, wrapped her arm around his waist. Kenji nodded at Mamoru as they left the pavilion.

Pulling Usagi back upright, Mamoru wiped the sweat from his forehead with his free arm, and pulled his beloved into a tight embrace.

The stressed silence was broken as music began to play.

-------

Haruka and Michiru sat quietly watching the dancing couple. Michiru was leaning against Haruka's chest. Haruka was dressed in a black tuxedo with a pale lemon cummerbund. Michiru was dressed in a simple spaghetti strap dress, coloured a pale lime green, matching pastel with pastel to the cummerbund of Haruka's tuxedo. A rather ostentatious choice but also a subtle joke to those in the know. The realisation of such a slip was after the fact.

They both looked on as the couple danced to the quiet and soft music that had filled the marquee with its soft air.

The day had been beautiful, warm and soothing, and now, as the sun began to set, dress jackets and collars were loosened, as the party became more relaxed.

The reclining pair had taken an almost parental role in the life of the Senshi, providing advice and assistance in times of need. The vast wealth that each had accumulated through their various pursuits, added to the investments made over the centuries by Setsuna, had allowed each and every girl to follow their dreams. Ami had returned from Helvetica, a little over a week ago, from her studies at the Medical University there. The other girls had enrolled in the University of Tokyo upon their graduation from high school. Setsuna had made a quasi life for herself in this time, deciding that the Gate could as easily be watched from this point in time as any other. Hotaru displaying a huge intellect and hidden powers was being taught by private tutors, her unexpected growth spurts finally halting at her outward appearance of fifteen years.

In short, the pair of Haruka and Michiru were happy. They had the love of each other and what they now thought of as their 'family'.

A shadow fell across Haruka's face. She opened her eyes to see the sombre face of Setsuna Meioh.

"I must depart," she said simply.

The look on Setsuna's face was one that did little to calm Haruka. She knew that look and didn't like it much.

"Business or pleasure?" she asked, knowing what the answer was going to be, and not liking it at all.

"Business," replied the stately dark greened haired woman, turning and walking away, "it is always business."

Haruka gently shook Michiru's shoulder, waking her. She then relayed what Setsuna had said. Michiru did not like it overly much either.

Perhaps they had let peace make them complacent.

-------

Usagi, her white dress swaying against her ankles and Mamoru, black clad, ever the gentleman, continued their dance.

Ami looked on. Her studies had progressed in class and in private. She now knew what was going to be covered before hand, as she had already studied it. Twice grounded her understanding. Her professors had recommended that she apply for the position of assistant lecturer over the holiday months, a well paying position, helping students catch up and being used to reaffirm her knowledge, and as an aide-de-camp to assist the resident research scientists. She had decided to think the idea over during her small holiday back home.

Urawa had insisted that she not study at all and had threatened to lock her in her bedroom for the entire time of her holiday. His having roped Makoto into his plan did little to help Ami's situation.

Although, the bedroom, as such was not entirely a bad idea. She and Urawa had finally gotten to the point where they could actually talk to each other and their relationship had blossomed. This offered Minako and Makoto endless pleasure, them having orchestrated the entire situation and relentlessly hounding her for 'information', as they called it.

Ami chuckled slightly when she recalled the last time they had pressed for such 'information'. She had told them vividly, and at length. Both had fled, flushed red from the neck up to the roots of their hair. Medicine had its advantages outside the scope of healing.

The next time Minako had gone to ask how Urawa 'was', Makoto had firmly planted her hand over Minako's mouth.

Urawa slid up to her and removed the half-empty glass from her hand. Extending his hand to hers, he led her onto the dance floor.

-------

Rei had finally given in and allowed Yuuichirou to dance with her. It had become a game of sorts. The feelings that they shared were mutual, yet they hid them from all but each other. They believed that, so their friends felt it unnecessary to shatter that illusion.

The red silk dress of Rei's rustled gently against the stiff fabric of Yuuchirou's tuxedo. He had removed his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, his unruly hair collecting on his shoulders and over his face. While originally, she had considered him a scruff, his dishevelled exterior and pure heart had played on her over time and she had finally admitted to herself the way she felt. It took her longer to admit it to him however.

Yuuichirou had no problem with this, his feelings obvious since he first laid eyes on her.

Rei had minimalised her temple duties, still taking an active part, yet concentrating more on her studies. Rei had decided to major in psychology with a minor in religious studies.

Yuuichirou had become a full-fledged priest, and was subtly running the temple in Rei's absence. Grandpa Hino, still going strong, was however becoming more and more unable to fulfil his duties. He, even amongst initial doubts, had taken a shine to Yuuichirou from the beginning and treated the boy almost like a son. Or as the old man secretly hoped, a grandson.

As one dance turned into seven, Rei failed to notice.

-------

Kino Makoto loved this. She had enrolled part-time at the University, spending the rest of her time managing a fledgling catering business. While currently only working for friends and acquaintances, her reputation as a chef was growing and rivalled that of some Master's, although she had not undergone their formal training. Makoto had taken courses in marketing and management, in order to help fulfil her business plans.

While life seemed in order for the most part, she as Sailor Jupiter was edgy. There had only been sporadic outbreaks of youma; none affiliated with major powers. Most had simply slipped through the dimensional cracks. Many were weak and a single Senshi alone could deal with them easily and efficiently. These creatures were not a threat to the peace of the last twelve months, being isolated and eliminated within a short span.

But, it did not sit with Makoto. Her warrior instincts were on a fever pitch. She half attributed it to paranoia, but she had a sinking feeling that something was going to happen.

A pair of warm arms reached around her to clasp over her stomach. Ken, his long brown hair brushing against the shoulder of his tuxedo, kissed her cheek. Turning Makoto around, her green form fitting dress matching his cummerbund and undone bow tie, he pulled her onto the dance floor.

-------

Aino Minako had managed to evade her legion of admirers. The fine arts course coupled with her amateur modelling had made her something of a 'Aphrodite' around campus. Not that it bothered her; in fact the term was quite amusing. However it all seemed hollow to her. Since the incident with Adonis, (or Ace, Danburite or whoever) prior to her becoming aware of the other Senshi, and the further revelation about her, Kunzite and their past, all attempted relationships had failed. While she was still outgoing and bubbly, it was now tempered with a watchfulness.

Watching for what? Sometimes she wished maybe she has followed her one time desire to study psychology, but quickly dismissed it.

She however, had not managed to find a boyfriend. She was okay with this surprisingly. Often she would catch herself crying that she, Vassal of Venus, as she was, could not find a mate. But she had learnt patience. She watched all the male companionship she needed at present, curled up against his 'intended'. The white fur and black fur like a pile of lint. She giggled.

She had helped the others find love, her turn would come.

But quietly, the melancholic corner of her mind asked herself one single thing, "When?"

-------

Tomoe Hotaru watched Minako quietly, as she did all the others. Hotaru had aged quickly following the Pharaoh Ninety "incident", from infancy onward, currently resting at fifteen years of age. Her powers had grown also. It was almost as if, her body, as it grew, could contain more raw essence. Or indeed had to grow rapidly to contain the destructive energies.

Pluto was the only Senshi who knew of this. Setsuna was not surprised, then again she never was. Hotaru often wondered whether the joy was taken out of life for her mentor. Setsuna had tutored Hotaru in the conversion and use of her new energies; taking her away for weeks on end and bringing her back seconds later. Which unbeknown to the other Senshi; explained some, but not all, of her growth spurts.

Hotaru had fathomed Setsuna's attitude. It made her sad. Setsuna had adopted the cold exterior for a specific reason. Calm. This calm enabled her to control her emotions readily. The power of Pluto was immense, enough to wreck havoc on an untold scale. Universal, complete and utterly merciless, much like what she knew of her own.

This frightened Hotaru. Her powers were exponentially more destructive than her friends. Thus she was quiet, opening up only to the Senshi, at varying degrees. She feared that if her emotion was to escape her, she could kill all life - everywhere.

She was lonely but she had her family. And home was where the heart was.

-------

Setsuna Meioh watched the Senshi half-heartedly through her temporal portals. She could read many of the expressions easily, having watched the first steps of those that wore them. Many emotions, joy, happiness, bliss, contentment, loneliness, calm, patience, acceptance and anxiety.

Anxiety she could understand. Both Haruka and Michiru were on 'full alert', inconspicuously watching all and sundry. Maybe it had been a mistake to announce her departure. She could amend that but it was frivolous to do so. Unworthy of contemplation.

Turning to the large opening before her, its spectrum of colours swirling in a pattern only she could comprehend, she saw the fabric of time, bending and mending, after this recent tear.

As quick as the tear had appeared it had vanished. This created problems. While she would easily be able to isolate the time disturbance; temporal rifts caused other nuisances. Due to the nature of reality, all dimensions existed in a state of balance; a large disturbance such as this rip could cause ripples, imbalances in other dimensions and in the walls between them. Specifically the walls bordering on this dimension.

This basically meant that due to the fact that the Negaverse existed in this reality, a rip in time could imbalance the dimensional fabric, weakening the walls that separated our plane of existence from theirs.

Jupiter and Uranus would get their workouts. It seemed that unless things went exactly the opposite to what they usually did, everyone would get a workout.

-------

Prodding. Prodding. Constantly prodding.

The patient was disorientated, asleep for five months and now awake, it was weak, its muscles in a state of atrophy even though physical therapy had been undertaken. The patient had tried to leave twice now. Sedated but still uncooperative the patient made the occasional half-hearted play for freedom.

Inside his head the patient was swimming, drowning almost in an influx of memories. The body was a shell; the mind was new to it. The mind was trying to move in so to speak, setting its mental furniture about, filling memories in shelves like books. On a subconscious level, a residue of the original host rallied against this. A poltergeist that couldn't move on. The new inhabitant, finally after much cajoling, offered the previous owner the equivalent of a mental cup of coffee. They began to talk.

The body slumped.

The doctors and nurse's began a frantic sweep of the body, checking that it hadn't slipped back into limbo. Performing tests that had already been performed again and again.

The body and its minds were simply exhausted. A conclusion had been reached. Setting their cups down, the minds slowly melded, becoming a new entity, yet not so, a fusion of a whole and a fraction, the sum to the n-th factor of its parts.

**Chapter Two**

**WHO ARE YOU?**

_"Hey you boy, think that you know what you're doing_

_You think you're gonna set things to rights_

_You're just another picture on a teenage wall_

_You're just another sucker ready for a fall"_

_Queen - "Fight From the Inside" - News Of The World_

-------

The parts of consciousness melded and combined, the bodies base memories, its blurry recollection of events, weaknesses in its structure and its strengths where integrated into the new soul. The soul wasn't entirely happy with its disjointed memoirs, but as the residue stated, it was simply that - a residue. As the essences joined, becoming a new entity, an individual, the body, weak still from its prolonged hiatus and its new shock at invasion by an unknown spirit, rested, its breathing deep and unlaboured.

A restful sleep. The first in many months.

-------

Sailor Pluto was worried. From her vantage point on what she often referred to as the 'Banks of Time', she watched the eddy and flow of the streams.

Time has been said to be a stream, constant. Yet from Setsuna's experience, this was only partially true; time was actually a delta. Time flowed, forward mostly, sometimes in whirls, events repeating and overlapping. The majority flowed, straight and steady.

However, an unknown 'thing' could enter the stream, whether it be a branch or rock or plant. While metaphorical at most, these analogies were accurate. Anything unknown and out of place could divert the stream, forging a new course or following a dry, old creek bed. These riverbeds, and its new diversions all represented possibilities, the chance of new and unseen events. These new paths could often veer off, going away, into the distance or they could stay close to the original channel.

The main channels always existed, its possibility planned from its 'snow-cap' or 'spring'. Most called this stream Fate. However these new paths could affect outcomes and the future in turn. While some new streams would eventually rejoin the main flow, many could stagnant, become still. These often stayed stagnant, frozen in the events which they sprung from. Others could become brackish, poisonous to drink, foul to the nose.

Pluto shook herself. She was melancholy again. Her ability to watch the time streams often led her mind to wander down them like a paper boat. Watching events on unknown shores could be dangerous, having only half the story.

Her main concern was this new impediment to the main flow. A boulder of sorts. It let little water past it. It was acting like a damn.

Time had shown this to be a bad thing. Damning the stream could cause two main problems.

Both were incomprehensible to Setsuna Meioh, her mind reeled from their implications. The first was that time would stop, damned up by the impediment, and move no longer, the status quo would remain, and change, the most necessary part of existence would cease to be. The second was it would overcome the damn, a torrent of raw temporal energy and wash over bank and stream alike, melding all streams into a flood of events and circumstances, unmoored by past, present and future.

She re-entered causal reality.

-------

The party had wound down considerably. It was now early Sunday morning. The night air was crisp and the full moon shone its benediction onto the restive remnants of the festivities.

Usagi, Mamoru's dress jacket covering her slender shoulders, rested between his arms and against his chest. Her occasional snores indicated that she was sleeping. Urawa, Yuuichirou and Ken had escorted their respective partners and Minako, home. Makoto had promised to return and finish her cleaning and collect her equipment early in the afternoon.

Hotaru, still small and lithe, rested quietly in Haruka's arms, Michiru returning from the carafe on the sideboard, brought a tray of coffee over to the small group.

Mamoru asked the question that had been plaguing him for some time; reluctant to ask but almost compelled. Foreboding had been creeping into his thoughts for some months now.

"Setsuna left early didn't she." It was a statement of fact.

"Yes", replied Haruka quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping girl in her arms.

Mamoru didn't like this. Setsuna had not even mentioned her departure. This in itself was not good; she was usually unfailingly polite, except of course, when time beckoned.

"I don't like this." Mamoru mumbled. Both Haruka and Michiru nodded silently.

-------

All things exist in time. Setsuna had learnt that early on. Therefore, as time was also a constant, she could be anywhere that time held sway.

Time being constant and moving seemed a paradox. Even after thousands of years back and forth, she hadn't cracked that chestnut. But whatever made it worked wasn't broken, so time wasn't of the essence.

The Gate was also constant. Both at the Beginning and the End; and also everywhere In-Between. The Gate now however has different. Subtly so, yet noticeable immediately. It was closed - thankfully - and undamaged. Setsuna walked around the Gate, her dark fuku swishing in the raw chronal energy across her thighs. There was a piece of notepaper on the Gate. It was blank.

Setsuna, suddenly pale, swore vehemently. A twinned chronal and dimensional anomaly.

This was not good. She had screwed up. But if she had, it must have been for a good reason. Because something bad had happened.

-------

Dimensions exist like bits of a circle; cones cut from the sphere like pieces from a pie. All cones touch at the core of the sphere. This makes up the universe, the core of all being. From the outside these dimensions can be identified by the different shapes the cones take, although all are the same size relatively, while literally some may be bigger or smaller.

The problem lies that any major disturbance in any one cone, adversely affects the nature of reality in general. The ripples caused by these disturbances radiate in concentric circles, like a pebble dropped into a small pond, spreading ever outward. Larger dimensions are effected less, on a relative scale, while smaller ones can be severely damaged on the quantum spectrum.

The "screw up" in question, was as such. A chronal anomaly had caused a ripple. This tear in the fabric of time had also caused other tears. Luck or mathematics depending, being quite busy, had managed to avert any major problems. But, and in matters of dimensional mechanics, there is always a but, the location of dimensions in the sphere always play a part.

Our dimension, our reality, sat next to another, and another, on all sides. One particular dimensional wall however, was weaker. It always had been. This had caused problems for millennia, since magic had been born in our reality, and its initial use had broken the wall. This dimension or universe, ours, is a relatively nice place to live. The other wasn't so much. At all. Our reality was, to them, like the vacation spot everybody wanted a cottage at.

Time and again the inhabitants of this other dimension had made plays for ours. Most often they were repulsed and defeated. They had gotten stronger though. Maybe this time they could make a lasting impression.

This other nasty little piece of dimensional real estate had a name.

The Dark Kingdom. The Negaverse.

-------

The Negaverse housed various species of youma, or monsters. Many were very similar like drones or worker bees. Oft times these creatures simply existed in a dry barren dog-eat-dog world. The high fatality rate was all but nullified by the various indiscriminate sexual practices of the creatures.

Nega-humans, the predominate form of humanoid passable in our realms lived in a segregated harmony with their ravening neighbours, advanced magicks and dimensional manipulation allowing travel and expeditions to most corners of the multiverse.

Occasionally and with large forces, high-youma, interbred nega-humans or the more powerful adaptive monsters would gather bands of drones and ravage across the desert landscape. This and the acrid temperatures negated the chance of plants to grab even the most tenacious of holds. These bands often fought each other into oblivion, providing the scavengers with sustenance and thus allowing them to become stronger and raise bands themselves.

Many times it would take years, even decades, to recoup these casualties.

However once in a dark moon, a powerful entity would raise an army and sweep all armies into their fold. These creatures were rarely the youma themselves, but often the inhabitants of fringe worlds and huge travelling asteroids, nega-human youma hybrids, or powerful outsiders trapped with no escape. Over time a few such forces had arisen to power in the Negaverse.

The first was Metallia, a being cast from her own dimension into the darkness that existed in the Negaverse. Her anger and rage had surpassed that of even the most powerful high-youma. Crushing all opposition and ruling by fear and an iron hand, she united the Negaverse into a colossal force, bringing together a force of chaos from the chaos.

Not trusting the base nature of her high-youma or the dupliciousness and self serving qualities of the nega-humans, Metallia subverted powerful human mystics, themselves travelling too far and not knowing their limits. Through these twisted souls, Metallia began to bring the intelligent humans over into her realms, cross breeding the demonic youma with humanity, creating sentient killing machines loyal to her and her alone.

She became akin to a god.

These half-breed creatures were sent to the floating asteroids and inhabitable moons. Over time, their appearance became more human, as demonic traits were bred out, via nega-human mothers and fathers. The powers and the anger remained.

Nega-humans became a sub race. Genetic chattel and fodder for the battleground.

Eventually, a woman caught the attention of Metallia. A misguided girl enraged at being ignored by a man whom she loved. Metallia twisted this child, corrupting her soul, and because the likening between their rage was similar, she became a sometime conduit for the disembodied ruler of the Negaverse. Metallia renamed this girl Beryl.

Beryl challenged the Heavens and Heaven retaliated. The thunder and fire rained down upon her armies. The sea's and earth crashed against her armies, blocks of ice and sheets of light decimating her troops. But numbers and darkness prevailed, her four human generals, brought over to darkness by rich words and bent minds, and seven youma-kings winning through guile, treachery and deceit.

Then the light flashed and the darkness was extinguished. Emptiness.

-------

Centuries later, Metallia's distrust of her youma servitors was proved a wise decision. The floating satellites, now cities and worlds, hosted various 'families', warring factions similar to the city-states common in Renaissance Europe.

The most powerful of these, The Black Moon Family rose to power upon the moon of Nemesis. They attempted to follow in the footsteps of Beryl, herself now a prisoner in their dark dimension, away from her gaze. This isolation saved them from the second flare, some ten thousand years later, that destroyed their Queen, and yet sparing them, cast them into a hostile realm filled with enemies. Unable to destroy these enemies in the traditional means, they resorted to treachery and deceit. This centred on a child.

However this child escaped. And a precedent was set. Time could be an enemy.

They attempted to make it an ally.

Where the ancient nega-humans had used magicks and spells to pierce the veil between the dimensions, these displaced ones would use it to pierce the fabric between the moments.

-------

Setsuna Meioh watched. It was in her job description. As the Guardian of Time, she as the Sailor Senshi of Pluto had seen invasions. This was too much in her old, jaded eyes.

These fields of the slain, lying like wheat, sown yet left to rot as their ploughman neglected them.

Her home to be, The Crystal Millennium lay shattered.

In the handful of millennia since Serenity had established this bastion of light against the darkness that threatened the Earth, each threat had been repulsed. But not like this. This was too much.

The Senshi, all bar herself and those of the Moon, were dead. Fires flickered and ice rained down upon their still bodies, the residue of their powers settling, as if in mourning for their departed masters.

Neptune and Uranus lay near each other their arms, stretched to touch across the mud and slowly drying blood. Mercury, attempting to stonewall an attack against a weakened Venus, had been flash fried by a demonlord. Mars had wrestled said beast but had died under its death throes. Venus, enraged beyond sentience had attempted melee combat with one of the Queen's Hand.

She had fallen, weakened unto exhaustion, missing the scythe striking her by the grace of Saturn.

Saturn and a muddied Jupiter, who had been sparing with another demonlord, had attempted to halt the Hand on his way to the shimmering wall, waiting for Pluto to finish her task.

It had not been enough, although the Royal Family had held the shield wall.

Pluto had arrived, her own seifuku torn and ripped from battle, to see them fall and the Queen's Hand, the Four Beasts, raise their heads to the sky and bellow out a fierce cry and disappear.

As they and their Fell Queen vanished, she felt the pain. The pain of her power being forced against her, ripped against reality.

As she stood, rising from her knees, after the pain had subsided to look across this field of destruction the enormity of the facts hit her. She began to weep.

Movement caught her eye. A giant demon carcass, smoking in the hazy red light, shuddered. Raising the Time Staff, she prepared to smite the creature. It just rolled over. A silver flash as the Silence Glaive was hoisted into a vertical position. This was followed by the Senshi of Silence. Alive, relief. As she waded over to Pluto, through the corpses of friend and foe alike, ankle deep in blood and bile, to place her hand and what little support she could on Pluto, she voiced what they were both hoping, yet afraid to ask.

"I pray that Naydar makes it back."

-------

Pluto was rather angry. She had or herself did or she would, break a cardinal rule and warn herself, another herself about danger to the Time Stream.

Needless to say, a break of this rule, was obviously the precursor to something monumental.

She would need to find the origin of this anomaly and fast. Time really didn't mean much, but her perception of it was simply to make haste.

-------

The origin however, had by this time woken up and in true fashion for someone how had been asleep for a long time, was currently undertaking care of its necessary bodily functions.

A small achievement in itself that the nurses and such had let him up, considering their continued attempts to drug him to the eyeballs with whatever passed for the strongest tranquilizer around. The mind considered this as a sidenote to its current activity. Perhaps they realised that it wasn't having much effect on him and it would be better suited to use such measures on other patients. The fact the medical staff was befuddled by his seemingly rapid recovery didn't even register as a possibility.

-------

Pluto stepped through a portal and found herself looking over a field of destruction. She saw all her friends lying in various positions of agony and death. The sky was dark and dead, the stars seemingly dulled by the carnage and smoke of battle.

She quickly scanned the Time Stream. This reality was moving further out from the main flow, yet this was the point of contact, the origin of the ripple that had moved through time both forwards and backwards.

Movement caught her eye amongst the wreckage of beast and beauty, and she readied herself for battle.

Saturn approached her, bloodied and tattered, her magical glaive the only shining spot in a world of red and black destruction and said slowly, her still young eyes haunted, "I pray that Naydar makes it back."

-------

Naydar had made it. In fact he and his body were currently getting acquainted, via the questionable joy of food. It tasted like cardboard, but then again hospital food always does. Something's don't change.

He didn't know he was Naydar. The residue and the new soul had decided to slowly bring that back to the host's attention on at least an unconscious level until recovery was complete.

Another coma would seriously mess things up. The more complete residue of Naydar was also confused. Something important had been lost on the journey, a journey it couldn't or didn't want to remember. This vital thing was tantamount to his return and yet it remained elusive. The remaining soul simply pushed the body to fulfil its base need for sustenance.

Naydar ate the food anyway.

-------

Pluto stood by the Gate. That explained it. Naydar had been sent back to warn the others. But as she had sent Saturn back to the Palace with Naydar's body, she had realised what she would do in three thousand years. Send his soul back.

Into another body.

It was unprecedented. Manipulating matter through the chronal flux was one thing, but transferring a simply spiritual essence required more concentration and power than could possibly be expended and still allow her to maintain her, albeit unconscious, watch on the timestream. The threat, or what she could gather from the devastation she had witnessed, was horrifying, yet the risky procedure of soul transfer was never one hundred percent assured. Naydar could be back, full of faculties or he could be almost like a misplaced memory, a dream in another consciousness. Either way, valuable information was contained within.

Staying in that damned wasteland of blood was not an option, some things even she was not permitted to know. Even if she had, she would have been stopped. Certain things must run their course, and her interference would be questioned most critically. Especially by herself, now or later. That world of terror was the main stream, the central river and being there and learning more would prompt her to take action. She was only human, and understood her weaknesses. Only so much pain could be ignored. To ignore that scene any more required ignorance. A falsified blissful ignorance, and haunted dreams, filled with guilt. That could be withstood, practice had made it easier, but no less painful.

The task at hand was however more crucial. Now, it was simply a matter of finding that body. The soul would find a suitable host; Ami and Rei had clarified that, although the question confused them and Pluto had reluctantly shielded their memories of it being asked, at least until she asked in a thousand years time. Any interference along the flow even during the research period of Crystal Tokyo could further damage or impede events that needed to take place.

But out of five billion people, five billion souls to his one...

It was a job for someone who could work outside and around time.

Pluto stepped through the Gate once more.

-------

The body was startlingly bored. It felt good, better than it had. It decided to read its chart. Jack Argusson. Good name. The residue and the soul were feeding the body selected information, an unconscious selected amnesia. Nothing else registered really, simply taking in the environment and the minds wandering, slowly rebuilding to avoid further damage.

Jack stood up and walked down the corridors, the loose hospital garments pleasing him with the motion of air and cloth against his skin. This body felt tight, as strange as that sounded and didn't feel right.

He stumbled into the bathroom, splashing water from the faucet onto its face. The sensation was pleasurable, and the droplets ran down the skin in an odd way. Jack Argusson looked in the mirror. Dark hair, a very deep brown, and brownish green eyes.

This wasn't good. Something about that wasn't right.

The soul and residue were having trouble. The unconscious soul cursed. It had forgotten about Naydar's will. This stubborn man had caused all sorts of trouble back home, following his heart rather than his head and ending up in all sorts of unsavoury situations. Bull-headed enough to get itself out again, the soul was not taking any risks. It prodded the body away from the tantalizing mirror and its unknown reflection.

The Jack / Naydar hybrid walked into the Recreation Room, which was empty. The clock said three forty five am. Odd, that he wasn't tired, but he'd been asleep for five months so that wasn't very strange. He stepped outside and looked up at the stars. The full moon shone down on him, shining its benediction.

Benediction. Stately and beautiful like a queen. Queen.

The soul and residue lost their grip on the reins and reality crashed down on Jack like a truckload of concrete.

**Chapter Three**

**BACK IN A FASHION**

_"I feel angry, I feel helpless_

_Want to change the world_

_I feel violent, I feel alone_

_Don't try and change my mind"_

_Creed - "One" - My Own Prison_

-------

One soul and one soul residue, both trying to knit their composite realities together. Shutting down consciousness to build it back up again. The pulse of breath, the black nothingness of dreamless voids.

The nursing staff had found him at six in the morning. Lying on the balcony, his eyelids twitching like he was in a state of deep REM sleep. It was almost a dream, empty as it was. His two identities were attempting to mesh themselves, so their host wouldn't lose his already tentative and benign grip on an alien circumstance.

It was touchy at best. Naydar struggled for control, understanding he was here for a reason but unable to remember what. Naydar understood the basics behind soul transfer. Jack didn't. The leftover soul residue that was Jack, the boy struck by lightening, screamed and gibbered, its incomprehension tangible.

It was a horror. The two parts struggled to maintain a whole, while the stronger occupant, that of Naydar, more complete yet still lacking, helped that of Jack, the leftover core that gripped tenaciously to what it knew was real.

It was a battle of wills. Partial wills, but both with something great and entire at stake forever. Their universe, their individuality.

-------

Setsuna Meioh looked over her handiwork. Most of the remaining rips were simply stitching themselves slowly together, a gentle prod with her powers finishing the job.

The panic was now officially over, but the damage had already been done.

Setsuna stepped through a time portal, her entire being exhausted. Manipulating the time stream in order to repair such damage drained her mind to its limits. The two-fold hidden blessing and curse of her office. Luckily, for the most part, time was resilient and often the banks that it flowed between were strong. Shoring breaks and clearing floods still took time however.

Paradox.

Will. Her will.

She could stop time, level a mountain or tie a second into an endless loop, and possibly many more things. But it all lay on one simple factor. Her will. If she wished it to be so and carried out her will, it could be so, yet lose her faith in herself and her abilities and it was like pushing droplets of water uphill by hand.

She chuckled slightly. It surprised her that Uranus and Mars had not reached this conclusion. The henshin sticks were simply that - wands, pieces of plastic polymers with some latent magical energy. They were merely a focal point, a target for their owner's psychic energy.

The young priestess and the headstrong wind-racer, would have been her choices for figuring it out first. Their will and faith in themselves at least outwardly, surpassed that of the others. However she was proud. The one thing that kept them back for this discovery was a universal tie, that all the Senshi shared - love. Fear of hurting their loved ones, fear of losing them. Advancing above another would cause more guilt in the heart of the successor than animosity in her peers. Usagi advanced, yet love and respect made acceptance possible. That tie, love, was personified in their future Queen.

Their faults made them human.

Setsuna wondered if she was even human anymore. Her emotions had long ago been snuffed by the ravages of time and duty.

Her quiet safehouse, high above the hills of San Francisco, was her own. Safe, from her concerns, duty and from those others, whose love felt alien after so much time alone. No one knew of this house. She came here to be what she was afraid she wasn't any longer. A human female.

As she twisted the taps upon the large bathtub, the steaming water bubbled into the cream depression. Her mind wandered. She only called upon her own henshin wand in essences where she was required to transform in the company of her "co-workers". Often she could transform with just a mental nudge, often she wasn't there until it was time to fix an error or save the day.

Save the day. She laughed bitterly under her breath at that.

The wand was merely a symbol to her now. Of her innocence and how it was lost. Stolen by her loyalty to something that had broken her and made her feel the millennia more that her body showed.

As she dematerialised her fuku and stepped over the rim of the bathtub, sinking gently into the warm water her mind simply wanted peace, no more remembrances.

A single tear crept down her cheek and fell into the tub, lonely and lost amidst the steam and the flow. Just like her.

-------

The clean up had gone well. Makoto had managed to get help in the form of a willing Ami, Rei and Minako and a rather grumpy Usagi. Rei had been itching to make comments all afternoon about Usagi's manner and her unwillingness to clean up, especially considering they were the after-effects of her own mess, but whenever her head raised Makoto glared at her, subtly silencing any angry barrage.

She was content. Things were good. While she refused to take money from her 'customers', most gave her money anyway. She didn't like the idea of her friends paying for her food, when now, as for the past four years she did it for the joy it gave her and the pleasure it gave them.

She had finally found love. Close, as it was the whole time. Ken. It had shocked her at the time, but they had just fallen in love with each other. Simple and uncomplicated. If love could ever be called uncomplicated, she mused, remembering the various ups and downs experienced by Mamoru and Usagi.

The sun was setting. The last of the bags had been filled with any rubbish and the boxes containing her kitchen had been packed. They would head uptown soon, to waft along and do nothing, the perfect end to the perfect weekend.

The crunch of gravel alerted the small gathering of females to the arriving car. It was small, a hatchback, yet somehow the forms of Urawa, Mamoru, Yuuichirou and Ken, managed to get in and out with a minimum of bad language and resetting of limbs.

Hello's were exchanged and greetings were given, as Makoto watched her knight, stride across the grass to embed her in a hug. Yes, life was good. Uncomplicated.

They gathered into a loose circle.

"Okay then," said Makoto, "we will take my things back to my apartment and Mamoru, you're going to pick up the van later, right?" she queried.

"Yeah, and we meet you ladies for a movie at nine and then a late dinner." replied Mamoru. Usagi just burrowed her way into his armpit.

"Right then, me and Urawa will load the van then," said Yuuichirou.

"Sweet," replied Ken, followed by, "then me and Mamoru will start taking down the marquee." Urawa nodded.

"Just as well because HE would probably end up ripping it" barbed Rei, glaring at Yuuichirou.

He just poked his tongue at her. She winked back.

"Alright, may as well, let's do it then!" barked Mamoru. Makoto often wondered if he was practicing for the future. She had asked Usagi about it once, jokingly of course, but Usagi had gone all misty eyed and started ahh-ing and ohh-ing.

Uncomplicated. Yeah right.

-------

The eyes of Jack Argusson flicked open. Everything fit now. No gaps. Much. No all-consuming need to chew furniture. Yep all was set. He was Jack Argusson, coma victim. He was Naydar, Captain of the Outer Guard.

He still needed some time to process the changes however. He was back in time; the inherent memories of Jack's life and his were millennia apart. Close to three if he figured right. This was two thousand or so. History lessons after this point were pretty much null and void; they didn't mean shit. He was here, a time jumper; he would have to be damn careful.

Setsuna had always gone on about this when he was kid. He never paid attention though. Setsuna. This had something to do with her. He knew it. But whatever it was seemed to be skipping about the still darkened corridors of his mind, elusive and ghostly. Time from here on until about two thousand eight hundred was foggy in records at best. Only a handful of people left knew what had really happened, and they wouldn't talk about it. He often thought that was why they called it The Silence

What confused him most was that this wasn't even his fucking body. It was smaller, too tight and felt like a wet jersey; loose in some places but constricting in others, moving about was a new process to be learned. He felt animatronic, feeling but with sensations like he was drugged and muddled.

Why in the hell was he here!

-------

Minako sat quietly nursing her ice-cream sundae. She wasn't surprised at the turn the conversation had taken. It was scientifically proven (at least according to the trashy magazines she read), that gather more than three females together in one place and the subject of men will surface. She just listened. Her friends all seemed happy, and she was glad of it.

She however was not happy. She hated this. Last night she had been optimistic about finding a boyfriend, a companion, yet now she was depressed. Usually it went like that, but today, whether or not it was because she had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, as the metaphor went, it had hit her harder than usual.

Her friends didn't notice but then again, she didn't begrudge them.

She took another spoon of chocolate ice cream. Things would work out.

Optimism and naiveté could very easily be confused.

-------

Ami had noticed however. Very little slipped past Ami. Minako wasn't like this. Not until recently. Ami either pinned it on boy troubles, or school troubles. She could help out with either.

The fact that Minako's usually bubbly exterior had disappeared since college started was a concern. While studies had never been Minako's strong point she accepted her failings with good grace, and tried her best given the situation. Now, it was more of a case of sliding through by the whiskers and not even mentioning it, shrugging off all offers for assistance like a summer breeze.

To interfere was not like Ami, but she would watch her friend anyway. It hurt her to see her friend in some sort of pain that she didn't feel she could be open about.

-------

The alleyway was dark. And it stunk. Bad. Like, well, something really freaking stinky. It wasn't the alleyway that stunk. While the alleyway wasn't mint fresh in itself, it did have its pride. What stunk was the large seven-foot tall grey-skinned youma. This youma, even though he didn't have a name that could be vocalised using a human language, was well known in the Negaverse. He had a hygiene problem.

And for other youma to notice, it had to be bad.

At this time, the youma was digging through trash, looking for something to eat. Nothing in particular, just something. Rancid sprang to its mind, but quickly left the rather disturbing mental processes to their own devices.

A stray dog wandered forlornly into the alleyway, its limp tail almost dragging on the asphalt behind it. The dog sniffed.

The youma sniffed. It's bovine shaped legs stiffened and it's thickly muscled torso turned towards the unsuspecting canine. The bat-like snout wrinkled as the air rasped in and out, tasting the creature that had confronted the youma.

The dog barked in warning.

The monster roared.

High above the industrial district, and across town, the still night air carried the terrified whines and yelps of a stray dog.

Then nothing.

And then the air was like the alleyway, empty.

-------

Setsuna had nearly fallen asleep. In the tub. That would be interesting. Guardian of Time drowns in tub. She snorted derisively. She could help prevent the end of the world, heck even the Universe but she can't help falling asleep in the tub.

She was sitting in a white terry cloth bathrobe, deep in a dark red leather armchair. She sat contemplatively; looking quietly out over the sea of lights that made up night-time San Francisco. All those lights, like souls - able to be snuffed out, as easy as flicking a switch.

Such morbid thoughts.

Setsuna shuddered. A chill ran down her spine. Youma. She hadn't felt it in so long, the sensation surprised her. It wasn't close either; it was some distance away. She never expected to sense one here.

She snapped back. Of course. Her mind had drifted while she watched the city, her mind floating free. Something she had used to isolate the Senshi originally, but which, in quieter times, she really had no daily use for. She decided to try to pinpoint its location using the same method - it was moving and quickly, noises were attracting it. It had the taste of blood on its tongue. She cursed her self-involvement, had she been paying attention rather than felling sorry for herself she would have felt its arrival immediately.

Setsuna hated it. Even the brief psychic contact left her feeling sullied and dirty. That was a problem with being a Senshi, untap the powers and they get stronger and stronger. She had often used the trick when she and Hotaru went "hunting", as she called it, scouring the world for dimensional blemishes and destroying the invaders that snuck through.

Still this perversion had a taste for blood and it was heading towards people, and a lot of them.

Damn.

Setsuna vanished.

-------

Hotaru was quite content. Her homework had been finished by lunchtime on Friday. Her trump card was that she didn't let on how smart she really was. So tonight, Sunday, she simply sat quietly in the spa pool of the "Outer Mansion" and channel surfed through the satellite television.

She clicked the large button on the remote and the television blinked off.

Setsuna had disappeared late yesterday afternoon and hadn't been seen since. While not unusual, Hotaru was ill at ease. Setsuna often disappeared for periods of time, and she could only guess how much time actually passed in those days. Hotaru was glad she hadn't pulled that straw. One with time yet apart from all that moved within it.

That was another query she had wondered about. Saturn, her planet, was the Roman name for the Greek Titan Chronos. Chronos meant Time. Pluto was the Roman name for the Greek God of the Underworld - Hades. She wondered why she was the Senshi Of Silence and Setsuna that of Time. It had confused her ever since she had opened that mythology book back when she was four or some such.

Her mind was drifting. She was thinking about Haruka and Michiru. They had gone to dinner. It was usually at times like this when Setsuna would appear and she and Hotaru would disappear into the time stream for months at a time, Setsuna eventually bringing Hotaru back seconds after they had left.

Everyone had commented on her 'growth spurts'. Setsuna had said that it was because her power was capable of so much, that any lack of focus or control at the wrong time, or a flash of emotion, could rip the fabric of the Universe asunder. Maturity of at least a physical nature was required to harness and reign in the destructive force.

Maybe the hunting and training had been in preparation for whatever occupied Setsuna at present?

So she was quiet. She alone could see through Pluto's harsh exterior, into the lonely places within. Hotaru often shuddered at the pain she had witnessed, not just of this reality but thousand's of others.

Pain and suffering that could make the Gods weep.

Let alone a woman.

**Chapter Four**

**SENSE OF NOT BELONGING**

_"No proof again_

_I'll take the myth, you take the blood_

_It's all the same to the world-dreamer_

_Its all the same in the end"_

_Live - "Ghost" - Secret Samadhi_

-------

Setsuna Meioh, now Sailor Pluto, appeared upon a rooftop. Looking out over the city, she gently pushed her mind outward, searching for the youma.

There it was.

Damn. It was faster than she had assumed, and more cunning. But as a wise man in Ancient Greece had once told her, "Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups." Or at least, that was the current translation.

Setsuna conjured a portal and jumped into it.

-------

Naydar / Jack had had about enough of this. The food was awful, there wasn't enough of it and he was bored. He needed to do one simple thing. Simple in deciding, but difficult in the execution.

He needed to find Setsuna. Problem was he didn't know where in the world to find her, let alone when. Tokyo was a fairly safe bet for the where, but even then, it was a big city at the beginning of the twenty first century.

He had only been awake for three days and he was already in the process of browbeating the doctors to let him out. They were reluctant due to his collapse on the balcony and his seizures, yet his constant nagging of the staff wasn't making him any friends. Tough shit. He wanted to get out of the damn place and anyway was a good way.

The trouble had really been earlier this afternoon. Jack's parents had shown up. Not that that was bad, Naydar just needed to access Jack's memories. The trouble was simply that Jack was only seventeen years old. Naydar was over two thousand. The outlook of both consciousness' was like black is to white and his, Jack's, parents had left more concerned than when they had arrived.

Naturally they had wanted to look after him. He could understand that but how the hell was he gonna get to Tokyo with an overly concerned family watching him night and day? He couldn't just leave; their hope had been solidified when this body awoke, even if their son no longer lived in it.

-------

The grey skinned monster was nearing a large group of people; it could smell them, the sweet scent of their ripe flesh, pumping with blood and juices. The creature drooled, its dark saliva steaming a sticky trail down its chin.

Meat. Fresh meat. The rich gamey tang of human flesh.

It was lost in its own urges.

It didn't notice the fabric of time warp and melt and the woman with the staff step from the rent she had created. It didn't notice her ready a battle stance and swing the staff at its head.

It sure as hell noticed the contact though.

It screamed in rage and agony, its head bent to one side, the creature spun around on its bestial legs to confront its assailant.

-------

Pluto stepped gently out of the portal. She had scant minutes to act, the creature's intent and strength enough to carry out the base instincts that drove it. It was a low-level youma; capable of the basic thought patterns only, until it evolved. Thought patterns consisting of food, attack, defend and kill.

She shuddered at the thought. Youma evolving off the consumption of their own species was one thing, but evolving off the rich life energies of humans was entirely different.

One thing she was grateful to Beryl for. Her tight reign on the appetites of her minions.

It was unthinkable.

Its thickly muscled back was large and openly available for attack from her position behind the creature. Her best point of contact was on the triangular bone at the base of the neck...

Readying a practiced stance and gripping her Time Staff, Setsuna was battle ready. Inhaling, she swung the Time Staff like a club, catching the beast on the neck and snapping its head over.

The creature roared in an incomprehensible bellow, clearly in pain, its head lolling to one side, the brute's neck partially shattered. Advantage Pluto.

Pluto repositioned the staff in her gloved hand and advanced, striking the monster directly in the stomach with the Garnet Orb as it turned to face her. Recoiling and bending over the creature grabbed the Orb in its claw, attempting to pull Setsuna off balance and into its arms.

Setsuna laughed. The creature looked up at her quizzically over the slowly illuminating orb.

With a mental nudge, Setsuna activated the Garnet Orb, its dark red flames consuming the creatures hand in an instant, reducing its claw and forearm to ash.

Roaring once more, the creature swung its arm in a backhand motion, which Setsuna blocked with a twist of her staff, deflecting the monsters strike and smashing its elbow against the alley wall, with her follow through counter strike.

The youma, now both arms immobilized charged at the Senshi headfirst. Setsuna vaulted over the monster, landing deftly behind it and in a fluid position, spinning in her crouch, she crashed the Staff lengthwise across the back of the monster's knees.

The monster crashed to its face, blood gushing out its flat nose from the impact with concrete, its arms useless and its cattle-like knees inverted. Setsuna slowly rose and advanced once more.

Standing over the youma, its pathetic mewling filling her ears, Setsuna placed the Time Staff, the Garnet Orb, glowing brightly behind the creature's head.

"Dead Scream," she whispered.

**Chapter Five**

**MATERNAL INSTINCT**

_"Blue masquerade strangers look on_

_When will they learn this loneliness?_

_Temptation heat beats like a drum_

_Deep in your veins I will not"_

_Gerard McMann - "Cry Little Sister" - The Lost Boys OST Album_

-------

Sailor Pluto breathed in deeply, as a gentle breeze scattered pieces of paper and the ashy remnants of the youma, down the alleyway. The greenish grey dust swirled like mini tornadoes as it was dispersed into obscurity.

Pluto relaxed her shoulders, placing the butt of the Time Staff on the ground breaking her combat stance. Mentally extending herself, a small purplish vortex materialized in front of her.

She tensed. She was being watched.

Spinning around and bringing her staff to the ready she positioned herself to fend off the attack.

A dirty-faced little girl was crouched between two garbage cans, the trails of tears marked on her face. Pluto relaxed, her staff disappearing in a seemingly absent minded way.

She knelt down on one knee and extended her hand to the child.

"Come here little one," she asked, placing as much compassion as she could in her voice.

The child looked shell-shocked, she had obviously seen the whole event. The child squirmed from her hiding place and stood up quietly. Pluto's compassion exploded onto her face as she now could fully see the child. Her Senshi eyes, heightened by her powers and her vision saw this girl more clearly than a crystal.

The girl was dressed in rags, hand-me-downs and charity, cut to fit. Her small pink toes peeked from her shoes like small blind creatures afraid of the light. The girl was emaciated, starving. As Pluto saw the child's life spread out before her in a moment of rare clarity, she shuddered at the pain this person would and had experienced. This was no life for a child. Let alone an adult.

Holding out her hand to the girl, she softly beckoned her. The girl was intrigued, she knew the strange lady that had been holding the big key wouldn't hurt her. She took a step forward.

And another.

Pluto looked into the child's face, her skin barely visible behind the layer of dirt.

"What is your name child?" she asked softly, fearing the girl would run.

"Katie," replied the girl in a quiet voice.

"Katie, would you like some food and some new clothes?"

The child had seen this sort of thing before. People would come and offer things and take the people she knew away. Sometimes those people where bad, sometimes they were nice. She was usually scared so she would hide. This time, she felt as though her eyes had been opened.

"Yes please." she replied in that same voice.

"Good girl," replied Pluto, motioning for the child to come to her. Still hesitating slightly the girl climbed into Pluto's arms and rested her head on Pluto's shoulder.

Pluto nudged her portal with a thought and it expanded to allow her passage.

As the portal winked out of existence, a small pearl drop tear that had fallen from Setsuna's eye splashed against the filthy asphalt.

-------

It had been another bad night in his head. There was some sort of argument going on, like a backlash of sorts. He just lay there; his eye's trying to register upon the outside world yet not really making much effort.

He raised his arm. It was stiff and it hurt. He opened his mouth and an "aaahhgc" was all that came out.

His eyes slowly opened to see a blurry conglomeration of whites and blues and those other pastel type colours that look hideous when thrown together.

A voice tried to break through his befuddled state of mind.

"Mr. Argusson are you awake?"

Jack just waved his hand limply in the direction the voice came from.

"We had to sedate you Mr. Argusson. During the night you were screaming and yelling."

Oh, well that explained it then.

-------

She stood, staring out into the night from the top of Tokyo Tower. While her mood was sombre, it amused her that they kept rebuilding the structure constantly, even after it's being levelled so often. A beckon of normality in a constantly changing world perhaps, something solid to say everything is all right.

She had lived centuries, millennia, forward and backward and once or twice sideways, and still the world was a harsh and cold place. She had witnessed many atrocities first hand. Most were etched on her mind like glyphs on stone. The concentration camps in Nazi Germany, the slaughter of innocent Native American woman and children during the Civil War in America, the sacrifice of infants to the fire god Baal and the blind hatred committed under the false banner of religious fervour during the Crusades.

She had seen so much pain and suffering. And always the same ones were those made to suffer. The innocent, the pure, the weak.

Her skirt fluttered across her thighs almost cracking in the biting wind.

She had seen enough pain. It now seemed to define her.

-------

As the sun rose quietly over the Juuban district, the light slid unobtrusively through the curtains and across the face of the young woman. She wrinkled her noise and made to roll over. Finding resistance, she lifted her arm and swatted at the obstacle. It gave.

It also swore.

The obstacle moved and noise could be heard as it wandered off in the opposite direction. The girl rolled over fully her face now out of the sun and began to snore.

This snoring was rather like music to the young man's ears.

As he looked in the mirror and his slightly red nose, Chiba Mamoru turned on the tap, letting semi warm water gurgle down the plughole. Splashing some on his face he rubbed his eyes and turned the tap off. Leaning back and stretching he yawned deeply. He would definitely make sure they had a super king-size bed at the Palace. His ribs hurt.

Looking around he noticed that he wasn't wearing any clothes. Grinning to himself he stepped into the shower and turned it on.

He smiled to himself as he soaped his chest. Things had indeed worked out. He was happy, Usagi was happy. He was pretty sure the other Senshi were happy as well, although he wasn't sure about Minako and Setsuna. Although being sure about anything involving Setsuna would require a degree in quantum physics and abnormal psychology.

He had been through so much to be with his rabbit. He had died, a couple of times, but those memories were sketchy at best (thankfully). He had been through personal doubts, tragedies, dreams from the future and any other number of cosmic interferences.

Yet, he wouldn't trade it for the world.

Meanwhile the girl with flailing arms was awake. The caterwauling from the bathroom wasn't exactly conductive to sleep.

She smiled. They had been through so much and now they were able to finally just be there for each other body, mind and soul. It had been hard, so very hard at some stages. Yet they had a direction, a destiny mapped and chartered. It didn't bother her however. While Ami wasn't really keen on the destiny idea, Tsukino Usagi didn't mind. It helped actually, almost like a TV schedule. She had all the time before the show started to do other things. Admittedly the show didn't start for nearly one thousand years, so she had plenty of time. She had a man she loved, and who loved her back, she had a wonderful family, both of the blood and of the heart.

Yep. Time.

Minutes later she was snoring.

-------

The gentle rays of the early morning sun fell across the cobbles that paved the courtyard in the front of the Hikawa Shrine. Rei stood on the decking around the residence with her trusty broom in her hand. She had no classes today yet watching the sunrise over her home had become a habit that had become almost as normal as breathing.

A pair of warm hands wrapped around her waist and a roughly shaven chin rested on her shoulder.

She sighed. Half content, half exasperation. She was happy but deep down she could feel it.

A storm was coming.

-------

Makoto shut the door to her oven with her backside and wiped her forehead with her forearm, deftly balancing the tray of biscuit-like morsels, which she then put down on the counter top. She had been up for a couple of hours now, cooking and baking these little biscuit things for some sort of corporate party or some such at the company Usagi's father worked for.

Makoto was placing some more of the morsels on a tray when she heard the door open and shut.

"Mako-chan!?" Ken walked into the kitchen carrying a tray with two coffee cups on it. She leaned over and he kissed her on the cheek as he placed the tray down out of the way.

As Makoto pushed the tray into the oven and stood up Ken grabbed her around the waist, squeezing her in a tight hug.

"So what plans for today my darling?" he asked.

-------

The day was slightly further along when Ryou Urawa brought the large continental style breakfast into the kitchen and placed a plate in front of his girlfriend Mizuno Ami. The large plate of sausages and eggs, with a side of toast seemingly went unnoticed from behind the large medical text.

The book slowly closed as Ami finished her page. She grinned at Urawa and began to eat her breakfast. He watched her eating, smiling at her. There was a time when she would only eat due to necessity, yet under the tutelage of Usagi and Minako, she was now cutting loose and having fun more often. Study wasn't her entire life now; just a big part of it.

Urawa was unsure as to whether this was a good thing or not.

He grinned and began to eat his own breakfast.

-------

Mamoru entered the bedroom, a tray of toast and coffee in his arms. Usagi had woken up again and was sitting up rubbing her eyes. Mamoru placed the table tray across her lap, and as she smiled at him, he flicked his wrist. In a burst of petals, a red rose was in his hand.

Usagi looked at the rose, squealed and pulled him into a hug. The rose was heart shaped, it petal's providing the curves.

Mamoru climbed onto the bed next to her and they drank their coffee.

"Usako," he asked, "are you happy?"

She wrinkled her nose as if the question was confusing.

"Of course Mamo-chan. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just a little worried I guess, everything and everybody seem to have landed on their feet, everybody is settling down and finding their path, but somehow it just seems like, I dunno, I can't help but feel like things are going to go flying out the window. Everytime we all get settled, something blows it all apart."

Usagi smiled at him, taking his roughly shaven chin in her hands. She kissed him gently on the lips. "Don't worry Mamo-chan."

She got out of bed, her pink bunny pyjamas almost a seductive sight and went towards the bathroom.

Mamoru lay back resting his head against the backboard of his bed.

"I wish I could believe you love," he said under his breath "but somehow I can't."

Lying back, Mamoru couldn't really explain why he felt this way. A mix of experience, gut feeling and paranoia had been over him since the night of Usagi's birthday. A niggling feeling at the base of his skull. He didn't want to worry her, but the sensation had become almost a constant in his waking hours. Setsuna's hasty exit had sparked whatever fear had lay hidden for nearly a year, and now, the demon wanted to be fed.

He would drop in and see Rei later.

The doorbell rang. Standing up and scratching his chin, Mamoru picked up a shirt and began to pull it on as he walked towards the front door.

Buttoning the shirt up he opened the door. The face that greeted him with a big smile belonged to Minako. She smiled, slapped his cheek playfully and entered.

"Morning Mamoru, where's Usagi-chan?"

"Eh shower, Mina. You want a coffee?"

"Sure" she said.

Mamoru filled the jug and grabbed a cup out of the cupboard. "You seem chirpy this morning? I'm glad," he said as he placed coffee and sugar in the cup.

"Why's that?"

"Well I have been worried about you lately. You just seemed to not be yourself."

Her face fell quickly but as his back was to her, he didn't see. She struggled to pull on a smile and said "No problems here."

He turned and handed her the coffee; she grinned and flashed him her trademark V sign.

He grinned and left to hurry Usagi up.

Minako sat down as her face fell. She held her head in her hands. She was so lonely. She didn't want to say anything to her friends to ruin their happiness. She knew she was being selfish but she couldn't help it. Surely she had a right to be loved?

She straightened her face when she heard Usagi giggle. Usagi came into the room, smiling brightly, she grabbed her purse and ran past Minako grabbing her hand on the way, saying "Bye Mamo-chan" at the top of her voice. Mamoru grinned wearily as Minako waved at him as the door closed behind them.

Mamoru sat down on the couch and pulled his dog-eared copy of 'Interview with the Vampire' from between the seat cushions. Studying could wait. He sat bolt upright and shook his head. What was he saying? He looked over at the photograph of her on his coffee table.

"This is your fault," he said to the photo.

It didn't answer.

-------

The large mansion was quiet. The three occupants were all in the process of consuming breakfast. Haruka was reading a newspaper while Michiru poured fresh coffee for herself, Haruka and Hotaru.

Michiru broke the silence as she asked, "Has either of you seen Setsuna in the last few days?"

"Not since she left Usagi's the other night," mumbled Haruka from behind the newspaper.

"I'm worried," said Hotaru, "I have a bad feeling."

"You aren't the only one Hotaru-chan," said Haruka "things just seem to be too quiet."

"You and Makoto are just itching for a fight."

"Keeps me out of trouble." Haruka said as she lowered the newspaper, winking at the sea green-haired beauty next to her.

Michiru blushed.

Hotaru looked at them and dryly muttered "Don't mind me, I just live here."

Haruka guffawed dryly, and looked at their ward. "So Hotaru-chan, what plans for today?"

"School." she said indicating the uniform she was wearing.

A loud pop was heard, followed closely by a "No, not really."

Three heads turned to see the newcomer, their previously absent companion, comrade and landlord.

"Coffee, Pluto?" asked Michiru, seemingly unfazed by her sudden appearance, asked.

"You look like shit." Haruka stated matter-of-factly.

The fuku of Pluto dissolved in a miasma of colour and Setsuna Meioh stood there, dressed simply in jeans and shirt.

She sat in the empty seat and raised her eyebrows at the short-cropped blonde and the long aquamarine tressed girl. "Dressing gowns, my fashion has changed such in the last three days?"

"Touché" replied Hotaru grinning around her toast.

Setsuna sipped on her coffee and looked over the edge of her cup at her friends. She didn't like this. Everything had settled down and now...

"I will be calling a Senshi Meeting today. In two hours."

Haruka looked at her sideways, "Sounds like fun."

"Not really," said Setsuna, draining her cup and standing up. She placed the cup down and walked towards the far end of the house.

"No school?" asked Hotaru.

"No school." replied Michiru.

-------

"So essentially, you fought a youma. A mindless youma." stated Mamoru.

"Yes, if you take mindless to mean rampant killing and eating machine."

"And the reason why this is worthy of a meeting, asides the fact it is the first resurgence of youma outside Tokyo, or any trans-dimensional nastiness for that matter outside its confines - since Galaxia anyway, is?"

All the Senshi had at some stage in the last year confronted youma within the Tokyo area, the original nexus of the Negaverse - Terran influence. Hotaru remained quiet, herself and Setsuna alone were aware that the destruction of the Beryl - Metallia entity had opened various random gateways across the planet, not least at D-Point. The encounters with the Dead Moon and Black Moon Family were merely put down to refugees before the closing of the anomaly at D-Point, albeit incorrectly.

"Same as why you left Usagi's early, right?" questioned Haruka.

"Quite. A temporal flux."

"You didn't mention anything to me about it?" said Usagi, sounding somewhat hurt.

"It was your birthday, Princess, I didn't wish to disturb you" replied Setsuna.

"That's beside the point Usagi, what are we going to do about it?" queried Rei.

"Simple. You do not worry. I shall retire to the Gate and look over the streams in more detail, in order to determine the nearest flux and its origin. Then I shall deal with it."

"I'm all for sharing information that may be critical to the safety of the general populace but why inform us when you could easily neutralize such a threat."

"I wish it were that simple Ami, but it is not. This anomaly caused a tear in the fabric of reality. While I managed to stitch the majority of the wounds, reality exists in a balance and whatever came through or may come through will imbalance any events and reality itself. This imbalance weakens dimensional walls. That and the flow of time has been impeded."

Ami's mouth fell open quickly followed by those of Mamoru, Haruka and Michiru.

Rei stuttered but managed to force out "The flow of time is impeded?"

"Correct Mars," replied Pluto, "Whatever has, did or will come through is causing time to stagnate, and unless it can be prevented or aborted, time will not be able to flow along its designated course. Our holiday appears to be over."

Setsuna added silently to herself, "And it's my fault."

It stung her and tasted bad in her mouth but it was true, too many secrets, not wanting to risk the future and forewarn those involved directly of events concerned had turned and bitten her squarely in the face. Better to attempt to fix her mistakes and pretend they never happened, as some may not, or at least do what she could and then get the help needed.

Her mouth was dry. Foolish, proud woman that she was.

**Chapter Six**

**ROOK'S MOVEMENT**

_"I hate to talk like this_

_I hate to act as if, there's something wrong that I can't say_

_I have this dream at night, almost every night_

_I've been dreaming it forever, its easy to remember it_

_It's always cold, it's always day, you're always here, you always say_

_I'm alright, I'll be okay, if I can keep myself awake"_

_Black Lab - "Keep Myself Awake" - Buffy The Vampire Slayer OST Album_

-------

Setsuna had left to do whatever it was she did at the Time Gate. As the day was half gone, and they were all there, discussion had turned to the news she had left in her wake.

The Senshi broke into smaller groups to deal with his information in ways that suited them. Haruka and Makoto had excused themselves and headed towards the dojo. The sounds of their exertions could be heard across the temple grounds where the remaining Senshi and their guardians rested underneath the shade of a cherry tree. Before Setsuna had left they had mulled over all the facts and discussed them all in detail. It was futile and they knew it. But having something to occupy their minds would detract from the inevitable thought that would strike them all.

It is starting again.

All sat in quiet. Words were unnecessary. This might be the last social get together they had for some time without the spectre of duty over their heads.

In time, this small gathering broke up also. Individuals dispersed over the grounds of the Hikawa Shrine. Change was coming.

--------

Quiet contemplation aside, and forgotten, Minako sat across the temple grounds from her friends, perched in the limb of a large cherry tree. She had trouble explaining it.

Every time she had found love or a companion, she had her heart ripped from her chest and thrown bloody to the ground. Ace (etcetera, etcetera) was the first of many, small interests and various dates throughout the last few years, all to end in either her being called away due to 'personal things' or them falling for someone else or whatever the hell excuse was the pick of the day.

So then she just gave up, and gave that up and gave up giving up in favour of giving up.

It still hurt. She felt like she could offer someone out there so much, for just a chance for the both of them to be happy. Senshi of Love? Ha!

She moved along the branch until she reached the trunk and the extra support that it provided. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her arms around them. She began to cry.

Artemis looked on from another tree. He had thought something was wrong, and when he had confronted her she had denied it, yet the white moon cat knew his charge. As much as he wanted to go to her and comfort her, he could see she needed her space.

Maybe Luna would know what to do.

-------

Ami Mizuno sat quietly her hands darting over the keyboard of her small computer. She had been very busy the last few minutes, collating data in megabytes, running automated scenarios and generally trying to get a handle on things. All data from previous encounters had been compiled and analysed to the n-th degree. There were only two constant factors that sprang up over the course of the Senshi's exploits. The first, being that the enemies absorbed soul energy in its varying forms whether it be star seeds, pure hearts, soul energy or life force. The second was the fact that these enemies always seemed to do one thing besides the stealing of said energy. They always got stronger. Beryl had been tough, the Black Moon tougher, Galaxia the worst. If the graphs that had been made to indicate varying factors were correct, they were likely to be in trouble.

Aside from that, Ami had patched into the global positioning satellite system. Apart from being able to locate anything, anywhere on the planet, various factions had conspired to place 'other capabilities' aboard the satellites. These 'other capabilities' were not entirely above board, yet they provided some interesting resources to the Senshi of Ice. Such as the recording functions that recording the electromagnetic spectrum surrounding the planet. This was to monitor unsanctioned thermo-nuclear activity.

Early on in her career as Sailor Mercury, Ami had made a discovery that oftimes enabled them to stay one step ahead or at least on level footing with their enemies. Magic and nega-energy were viable, and as such produced a reaction in their environment whether it be heat, light or other spectromic reaction. By this simple premise they could be read off the electromagnetic spectrum or a magical derivative. Which was what Ami had done, however with the inception of the satellite only several months ago, the technology had not been available to them when they could have used it most for collation and determining future points of conflict.

A tracer program, compressed to the size of a small text file and floating the ether of cyberspace like a parasitic cyst maintained an interval contact with the satellites, in order to prevent the discovery of the technology from those in power. Uploading the log file, Ami was able to determine more recent energy spikes around San Francisco, along with Setsuna's magical energy signature, which was obviously the fight she mentioned. There was also another spike, the like of which she had never seen, strong and bold yet often faded and weak. It existed in a state of flux. And it wasn't nega-energy either. This added to the already growing equation.

Her mind wandering, Ami pondered the use of 'whatever' as valid scientific terminology.

Another interesting fact that at present Ami chose to ignore for the greater cause before them was that globally, nega-energy signatures were not just confined to Tokyo.

The scope here was beyond what Setsuna had claimed. Something monumental was happening. But why the secrecy? She would confront Setsuna at a later date. The Oldest Senshi should have known that, by now, she could trust and confide in those around her. She hadn't, so in all likelihood, she must have had a good reason. Ami wasn't usually one to deal in likelihood's, she preferred fact.

-------

Rei Hino sat before the Great Fire, her eyes closed yet seeing more than they could comprehend. The Fire however, was holding its secrets close. She continued to push her mind into the depths of the holy flames.

Behind her, quietly stood Yuuichirou Kumada. He was new to his role of priest, but with Rei he could tell. Something was amiss, and with the other girls here, it confirmed his suspicions. There would be nothing he could do, except love her. But that would happen anyway.

-------

The thuds of blows landed against the punching bag and the soft padded slapping of feet against the mats shimmered through the air like the heat coming from the bodies of the two young women.

Makoto and Haruka were taking turns compacting the stuffing of the said punching bag by alternately kicking the lower portions and punching the higher ones. Not one of the pair had spoken in the entire time they had been here, in the spacious low beamed training room.

Makoto let out a harsh grunt as she performed a flying spin kick to the top of the bag. A crack was heard as the chain connecting it to the floor pulled at the boards.

"Nice" said Haruka, generally meaning it. When they had first met, Makoto had been somewhat infatuated with the statuesque blonde, believing her to be, as was often the case, male. After they had mutually became aware of the others dual identity, they had become rivals. Now they were friends and sparring partners, each pushing the other to new feats of strength and endurance in the varying fields of combat.

"Thank you," huffed Makoto between breaths.

Haruka walked off towards the benches that ran down the sides of the gymnasium and taking a bottle of water, pitched it underarm to Makoto. She caught it and nodded her appreciation at the blonde.

"Looks like we get to have some fun after all, huh," said Makoto, after she had drained half her water.

"If you have an itch, I would be more than happy to scratch it for you," grinned Haruka, continuing a long-standing game. Over the past year, with no new enemies to beat on, they began baiting each other.

"You do and I'll tell on you," replied Makoto, doing a fairly good impersonation of Usagi, by poking out her tongue.

They both laughed. It was forced however. They both knew danger lay ahead. How much was anyone's guess.

Haruka pondered that anyone's guess didn't likely include Setsuna.

-------

Michiru sat in the shade beside the gymnasium. She found the sound of these workouts to be relaxing. She knew her lover needed to work out her frustrations by hitting something and Makoto was the best partner for that sort of activity. However, she, Michiru Kaioh, needed to be near Haruka. Even out of sight like she was now, was comforting enough.

The thudding stopped. She stood quietly and walked toward the closed screens that the two combatants would exit from.

As she walked quietly she could hear their conversation. She stopped in front of the door. Their laughter had died off, uncomfortably.

Then the screen slid open and Michiru, her foot tapping, greeted Haruka with a chill look.

"Misbehaving, are we?" she asked innocently.

Haruka blanched and lowered her head. Michiru winked at Makoto who began to laugh anew.

-------

Hotaru sat quietly, her slim shoulder resting against the tall thin structure that housed a small bird coup. She sighed. She had dreaded this moment for over a year. A new enemy and with it, her qualms and misgivings. She loved her friends, more her family now, yet she would always worry. Would they be able to tackle this new threat, avert any global calamities that may be thrown at them, withstand the mind games that the enemies would often use? If not, then she would have to step up to the plate and go into bat. And if she was required to bat, existence would be negated, reality unwoven like a cheap scarf.

She shuddered. It scared her to think that she could destroy the world. But she would. If her friends, her loved ones, where to be killed; or the world faced the prospect of eternal slavery under the yoke of some cruel oppressor, she would not falter.

She would destroy the world.

Tears ran down her cheeks.

-------

Usagi and Mamoru remained under the cherry tree, her head resting against his shoulder. They drew comfort from the proximity of the other, their thoughts seeming the echo the others.

Usagi was concerned. Her friends, they would die for her. She, in turn would die for them. They wouldn't let her do that. She knew what she had to do in the future, but at what cost. The lives of her friends, her lover, countless innocents.

This time there would be no quarter. She could not face the prospect of needless death, the though of it occurring made her feel ill, soiled. She would save them all. In any way possible.

Mamoru ran a finger gently down the side of her face. "No Usako, you won't".

She pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes.

"You won't risk yourself, Usako, there is no way on Earth, or anywhere else, that I, or the Senshi, will let you risk yourself for us."

"But," she began.

"No buts' my darling. Or any other word that could carry on that sentence. You will survive, we all will. We have too for the sake of the future. For the sake of Chibi-Usa."

He hadn't wanted to say that. He hated himself for it. But he had seen that resolve in her eyes before. Twice. Once at the North Pole through a haze of delusion and pain; once in the presence of Galaxia; beyond the veil of finality. Willing to trade her life for theirs. That look scared him more that death itself.

He reached his arms out and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Listen, Usako. I am scared. Terrified, that I may lose you. I won't let that happen. No way, no how. And if you do leave me, by all the gods, I will follow and fight them all, to bring you back."

Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked into her deep blue orbs. He pulled her into a loose embrace and cupped her chin with his hand.

"I will never lose you again, not ever."

He kissed her.

He wasn't lying either. He was terrified. He wanted to scream at the world for the injustice that it had just dealt him and his friends.

Terrified he would lose her again. Terrified he would be too late, terrified that she would have to save him again like she had in the past. Now it wasn't his pride that suffered, it was the prospect of an eternity without her in his arms. And in that thought, an idea was born.

-------

As the mid-afternoon came, the Senshi had said their goodbyes and moved off to complete their day elsewhere. Haruka and Michiru, along with their ward, Hotaru, disappeared down the road, under a cloud of dust, Haruka's yellow sports car disregarding the speed limit.

Mamoru with both cats in tow had left for his apartment. This had Usagi worried. He had a look of resolve that she rarely saw on his face. He was intent on something. She mentioned to Luna that she was worried, and her guardian assured her she would keep her eyes on him. Mamoru kissed Usagi goodbye and said that he would see her for dinner that evening.

The Inner Senshi all stood atop the steps of the Hikawa Shrine looking down on their departing friends.

Minako, again pushing her pain down deep within herself, smiled and said "Anybody for ice cream?"

The group then, upon unanimous, albeit unspoken decision, headed towards the Crown Arcade.

-------

"Rei." The name was said out of nowhere.

"Yes?" she said, turning to see a startled blonde man stop in mid-stride. Makoto placed her hand on Usagi's shoulder, to slow her down. Ami and Minako had also stopped to look at the man Rei had started to speak too.

"Pardon?" said the man, obviously thinking of something else entirely from the confused look on his face.

"You said my name," Rei almost snapped, "what do you want?"

"Rei!" hissed Makoto.

"Oh, I am so sorry," said the man, his face becoming puzzled as he struggled with the language, "Sorry, I was just thinking about a friend back home."

"Where are you from?" asked Minako, interested and intrigued by this stranger.

"New Zealand" he replied.

"You certainly are a long way from home." commented Ami.

"That I am." said the foreigner, as he turned and began to walk away.

The girls stood there looking at the departing man's back. Finally Makoto grinned, thinking of a way to alleviate the sombre mood Setsuna's news had brought with it, "You know, he looks a lot like my ex-boyfriend."

If the blonde heavyset man had heard he kept walking slowly and intently, as if he hadn't. His mind was occupied by something else. Ami just frowned.

-------

The Time Gate stood in majestic glory, its high gilded arch towering above the eddying billows of mist. The Gate opened, its massive doors moving without even the pretence of sound. The dark clad Sailor Senshi, Sailor Pluto, stepped from under the arch and the doors swung shut behind her, the only evidence of their motion a few stray wisps of mist.

Sailor Pluto turned towards a spot where the mist was somewhat thicker and the damp clouds swallowed her whole.

-------

Jack wasn't dealing. Not really anyway. On the outside it was cool. Inside however it was different, nightmares invading his mind during any sleep that crept over him. While Jack hadn't noticed this fracturing, he noticed the disturbed sleep. Naydar sat in quiet contemplation of his body. Jack knew he was there, just as Naydar knew Jack was there, yet while Naydar had accepted Jack and all that was his residue, Jack couldn't grasp the myriad of possibilities that Naydar's presence and full awakening to his situation had created. The original agreement was in hindsight, premature.

Sweat soaked and disturbed, he tossed and turned in his sleep.

Acceptance was needed.

-------

Setsuna sat in her tower. It was squat, heavy-bricked affair, with several layers. The bottom layer being a basement of sorts with racks of wine and brandy, aged for centuries as well as casks of gold and jewels (for emergencies). The middle floors contained tomes of knowledge lost to the world for ages, ancient manuscripts from Babylon and Alexandria. The top floor was the living quarters, small and immaculate, as well as being home. Setsuna sat there now in a deep overstuffed armchair, a cup of tea on her lap.

She could relax here, one of the few places she could.

Finishing her tea, Setsuna straightened her sweatpants and thick jersey and moved towards the double doors the stood in a small alcove. As the doors opened at her mental command, she couldn't help but wonder when she would be able to relax next. She was not sure how her folly had occurred and what had prompted it, but finding the 'spike' would get her halfway there. She had the origin in time of the 'spike' and his identity, but lost in the haze of a soul transfer, he would be difficult to find.

The other half would be finding out the cause, her reason for doing to him what she had, and the discovery she had shifted around her head and neglected to tell the others. That there was magic other than hers involved. Temporal magic.

She may have been The Guardian of Time but even she could only do and know so much. That pained her beyond measure on occasion. Her compatriots thought her to be infallible on the majority. The only one who truly understood her was young Hotaru.

Shaking the unwelcome thought's from her already cluttered mind she stood out onto the protruding ledge of stone, the concealing door having rolled back at her presence.

Making a sweeping motion with her hands the mists below her parted to reveal a gap. This gap was a hole in reality, different to any others in existence. This gap was a juncture of possibilities, a record of events in time and space across all time and space. With training and meditation the eye could follow a path along a set route weaving in and out of dimensions and fractured eventualities.

Setsuna Meioh stared into the rippling depths of this colourless gap.

With practiced ease she focused on the time streams and isolated the origins of the more prominent 'spikes'.

A young man on a skateboard wearing a red jacket and with an electric guitar across his back. The jacket was not from this timeline, its spike originating further forward than the boy. Another, a white haired early thirty something man with a star shaped tattoo on this eye. This man had been through the streams on numerous occasions. Setsuna scanned deeper. His bio-signature indicated he was human yet somewhat more. And yet another early thirty something man, scarred and battered with a haunted look in his eye. This one was strange; he had an ancient gauntlet on his fist. He was also somewhat more than human, heightened and alert. She pushed deeper, the images alien, rubbings from other realities let in by the rift.

The last spike was a young man, brown haired. He was asleep, yet troubled. She could see the sweat on his brow and chest as he writhed under some night-time torment. The torch of a nurse flashed over his face and moved off.

Setsuna pushed her mind further, all possibilities melting away as she sifted away the unwanted realities and timelines. The dark haired boy in the hospital was the ticket, the only remaining solid in the dispersing realities about him.

It was time to pay him a visit.

-------

Jack lay there, rationalising his new memories and emotions. How could he possibly acknowledge an existence in which he was semi-immortal, exposed to horrors and joys he had not yet known and could not possibly comprehend?

How?

Deep in his essence a deal had been made. Another one, which hopefully would be more successful than the first. The nightmares and horrors had ceased. A ploy if you will, was in process. Naydar knew his history. Jack could not comprehend the massive influx of knowledge concerning the future and the advances made, and with that he discounted the life experiences of another individual with his own logic and ideals.

So the game was initiated. A fine game of chess played deep within the bowels of his mind. Jack needed to awaken to these things on his own. So Naydar sat and waited. Backseat driving to what he knew would occur. Some trigger, some stress that would allow him to reach for the wheel. He waited and watched the scenery blur by.

He just needed to bide his time and wait for the irrefutable proof that he indeed was.

-------

She stepped out of the portal. The rooftop was chill in the pre-dawn light, a waning moon glimmering overhead. She turned, her heels clacking softly against the tar. The door into the building stood before her.

Lifting the Time Staff, she placed the Garnet Orb against the lock. Satisfyingly it gave a barely audible click. She smiled, grateful her staff was resemblant of a giant key.

She entered the stairwell and descended into the gloom as the door swung closed silently behind her.

-------

The fabric of reality rippled. To the casual observer it would appear that a pebble had been dropped into a wall. A wall which, somehow, had suddenly become liquid.

Like gelatinous ooze it parted, allowing a grey scaled claw to reach through. The claw flexed making a fist. This fist was followed by an arm, then a head, smatterings of the gooey wall coating them like amniotic fluid.

Now free, the creature stood, the gunk pooling on the clean floor tiles and creeping like quicksilver back to its original home.

The single creature was joined by another larger monstrosity. Both creatures were grey skinned sexless beings; their epidermal layer stretched taunt over their frames. The overall effect of tight skin over sinewy bodies, with their sunken eyes and skull-like nostrils was that of an animated cadaver.

The first beast stood apelike, its powerful shoulders pulling its body forward, its massive knuckles resting on the ground. The second beast stood nigh on seven feet tall, its sinewy and compactly muscled frame belying its colossal strength. A pair of fibrous batlike wings extended to their full ten-foot range, taking the place of arms.

The ape creature sniffed, the entirety of the skin on its head wrinkling as its nose worked. Its head turned with catlike acuity towards the left. The creature slowly loped off in that direction.

Aloof and distant the tall creature wrapped its membranous wings around it like a cloak, and impatiently followed the first.

-------

Two sets of eyes snapped aware. One set drawn from sleep, albeit fitful, the other set greeting this revelation with a smirk.

-------

Deep within the wall across the dimensional rift lay a cavernous under-realm. Twisting and turning through caverns and tunnels a large hall is reached. Against the far wall upon a dais there is a throne deep in preternatural shadow.

This throne was a grandiose work of abomination. Skulls adorned every inch of this seat, ranging from large youma-beasts to smaller birdlike animals. Almost every species on this world, extinct and alive was represented.

This throne was occupied. A lanky figure, its leg resting over an arm rakishly stared off across the hall. Its greasy black hair hung limp, plastered over its pasty white face. Its red eyes glimmered, the white irises seeming to scream of damnation. The figure smirked in response to some unseen stimulus, its yellowed teeth showing, prominent canines glinting in the half-light.

Had his hunters found their prey?

-------

The night-time halls of the hospital were dim, with glaring pools of light at specific points for nurses and on-duty staff to navigate by. The two creatures navigated by the olfaction of the apelike one. Echoed squeaks of rubber soled shoes reverberated through the moonlit halls.

-------

He lay there, wide-awake. He could sense their presence. Youma. Damnit. He shifted his legs to the side and sat up. Moving slowly so as not to creak the bedsprings, he stood. His body was stiff. Cursing the lack of exercise and the fact that he was in a hospital with over five months of inactivity both mentally and physically, he moved slowly out into the hallway. The fact he wasn't used to the body didn't help matters. Jack wanted to sleep, which didn't help either.

The lone nurses' station at the far end of the hall provided a yellow spot of illumination in the silver that the moon cast into the night-time halls. The moon.

Jack shook his head, images jumping through his mind. He moved silently across the hall into the bathroom across the way, leaving its sliding door open. He leaned up against the wall, took a deep breath and waited.

Jack was confused by this, his body tired and wanting sleep, but the more prominent host knew what was coming and sleep would have to wait, as would explanation to his co-pilot.

The opening play in the next game was about to begin.

-------

The dark fuku-clad form of Sailor Pluto, tensed, her back against the wall. The stairwell was dark and silent. However the flapping of leathery feet could be heard, almost silent in the night stillness.

A shadow passed the door that led off the stairwell into the main corridors and byways of the hospital. Another followed. This second shadow stopped. It seemed to shrug its shoulders as it moved off again.

She breathed out silently, unconscious until then that she had been holding her breath. She opened the door silently and slipped into the hallway. The tall form turned a corner. She followed them in earnest.

-------

The emaciated figure had straightened up on his throne and was smiling evilly with anticipation, its yellow teeth seeming to give a phosphorescent glow. The far wall that demanded his attention was like a black waterfall, oily and dark, with the occasional rainbow flash playing across its surface. With his sight, he saw beneath the inky murk and into the scene unfolding in the reality opposite.

His two youma had nearly reached their destination. The figure pushed its greasy black hair out of its red eyes and stood, his white stained uniform uncreasing as he looked on, his evil smirk stretching further across his pale bone white face.

-------

He stood there, his back against the wall, breathing ragged. He could sense them, so close; so close he could smell the evil coming off them like cheap perfume. He cursed silently and turned his head quickly to look into the hallway. Two demonic creatures stood there, one apelike, hunched on its knuckles, the other like a giant skeletal man-bat.

Jack gibbered. Naydar cursed.

Jack wasn't coping at all well with this. Naydar, metaphorically speaking, straightened up in the back seat as Jack lost his grip on reality and the wheel of his consciousness.

"I'm dreaming! I wanna wake the hell up!"

"No, this is real! My real!"

Naydar grabbed the wheel. Now, this was the time to fully get the acceptance from Jack that he needed.

Naydar took a deep breath.

In the hall the youma, looked into the small hospital room. The messed up sheets and the faint dampness of sweat could still be seen on the sheets. The ape monster jumped onto the bed, it creaked ominously.

And the beam of a flashlight played across the linoleum of the floor.

"Mr. Argusson? Is that you? Are you alright?" asked the young nurse as she stepped around the corner, having just checked the other side of the ward. Her flashlight flickered across the face of the tall bat beast, which spread its wings to their full span and hissed at her, a snakelike tongue flittering across its lips. The ape beast jumped out of the room landing before its counterpart.

The nurse screamed, the torch hitting the floor and with a crack the battery casing smashed open.

Naydar, now fully in control, made his left hand into a fist and placed it in his right palm, across the front of his body, almost as if in supplication.

The breath whispered across his lips, the fluttering mantra "Change, please change," barely audible.

The nurse had fallen to the ground; her knees brought up in front of her, almost to protect her from the ape monster that slowly lumbered towards her.

Naydar stood, as his hospital pyjamas (too small and drafty for his tastes) dissolved in a mesh of static and shadow, slowly revealing dark calf high boots, with black baggy trousers tucked into the tops. His white shirt was tucked into a large blue cummerbund type thing, which covered the top of his trousers as well as the tails of his shirt. Blue fingerless fighting gloves, adorned his hands, ending halfway up his forearms. A blue bandana, unremarkable in its simplicity sat around his neck.

He looked down at himself and grimaced. "I'm a pirate again, just fucking great," he mumbled. Slowly he caressed the cloth about his neck and leapt out into the hall.

The ape youma was still advancing on the woman when Naydar kicked it in the head sending it into the wall. The winged beast opened its jaws, the snake tongue flicking at an amazing speed, tasting Naydar's strength. Naydar looked down at the nurse, confusion, fear and the urge to run written over her pale and tear streaked face.

"Run" he yelled at her as the winged youma tackled him.

Pinned against the wall by the fibrous wings of the beast, Naydar watched over its shoulder as the nurse fled down the hall. Her being gone allowed him more room to manoeuvre. He swung his head sharply to the side taking the beasts jaw with a sidelong blow. The monster steeped back, its jaw limply hanging as its reptilian tongue darted back and forth, accessing the damage.

Naydar leaned up against the wall, shaking his head to clear the fog. "Mental note," he said, "don't do that again unless wearing big damn helmet."

The ape beast recovered from its kick to the head, lunged at Naydar, who met it in mid air with a knee to the jaw, as his gloved hands sought purchase on its leathery skin. The winged one attacked, blindsiding him and sending all three of them through the already weakened wall.

Naydar rolled out of the tangle of limbs and grabbed a wing. Pushing his arm around one and scrunching the leathery skin up against the bone, caused the beast to scream, a reverberating cry like that of a B-grade movie dinosaur. Using his arm barred grip on the wing, his other arm against the base where it joined the beast's back, Naydar used his body weight to throw the creature against its rising accomplice sending them both to the floor.

Taking a few steps backward, Naydar made a claw out of his right hand holding it to the side, concentrating his energy into a palpable force. The ape beast was the first to rise, and was greeted by Naydar's hand curling towards it as the words "urrrhhgh, bang!" echoed through its ringing ears, harsh and low.

A ball of dark coruscating energy, flickering with grey bolts of lightning hit the monster in the chest sending it against the wall. As the monster hit the wall, the ball dispersed hitting the beast's body with a web of dark lightning. The beast squealed like a pig as it slowly began to turn into dust, its greeny grey remains piling on the floor, in turn further disintegrating to nothingness.

Naydar fell to his knees, his energy depleted. He cursed again, against his luck mainly, for ending up in a weakened body.

The slowly rising bat youma, looked towards the dispersing dust and turned back to Naydar, hatred burning yellow in its slitted eyes. It started towards him, its shattered wing, limp and dragging across the floor. Naydar grinned at it, his sword magically appearing in the hand that was behind his back and poking at the edge of his sub space pocket. His blade was a large boardsword, black handled, with encrusted sapphires along the hilt. The pommel stone was a large ring of blue metal, with two horns protruding from it.

As the beast charged, Naydar steadied his balance. "Sorry 'bout the bad dialogue," he rasped, "best I could do in a pinch."

As the beast lunged Naydar pounced, swinging the blade with his right hand in a low arc, flying under the creatures outstretched arms and biting deep and through across its midsection. The beast's lunge continued over Naydar as he rolled over his right shoulder to the left, pulling himself with the momentum of his strike. Standing and turning, Naydar watched as the beast crashed against the linoleum, its viscous black blood steaming as it pooled on the tiles.

Naydar stood, his knees shaky, the exertion sending him close to the edge of collapse. A stray claw flailed towards him at ground level. Lifting his boot, he placed it down heavily on the weakened appendage of the beast, cracking its tibia.

Effectively pinned by both the foot on it arm and the debilitating stomach wound, Naydar lifted his sword in a downward swipe.

The beast quickly turned to dust, Naydar's knees crashing down with him behind them, where the beast's head had been seconds before. His sword winked out of existence and he placed his hand on the cold floor to steady himself, his stomach doing flip-flops and the urge to dry retch becoming a compulsion.

A quiet clapping reached his ears. Looking up from the tiles and down the hall, he caught sight of the Time Guardian, Sailor Pluto.

"Bang?" She said questioningly.

"Hello Setsuna, s'bout time you showed up," he said before falling headfirst to the ground, his costume dissolving in a static rain.

-------

**DISCLAIMERS**

_**Even Flow Chapter 1 – In From The Void**_ started April 2000 and finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong) Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Float by The Feelers from the album Supersystem is copyright WEA and Warner Music. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

_**Even Flow Chapter 2 – Who Are You?**_ started April 2000 and finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong) Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Fight From The Inside by Queen from the album News Of The World is copyright Queen Productions and EMI. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

_**Even Flow Chapter 3 – Back In A Fashion**_ started April 2000 and finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong) Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. One by Creed from the album My Own Prison is copyright Wind Up Entertainment, Epic Records and Sony Music. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

_**Even Flow Chapter 4 – Sense Of Not Belonging**_ started April 2000 and finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong) Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Ghost by Live from the album Secret Samadhi is copyright Radioactive Records and Universal Music. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

_**Even Flow Chapter 5 – Maternal Instinct**_ started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Cry Little Sister by Gerard McMann is copyright WB Music Corporation and BMI. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

_**Even Flow Chapter 6**_ Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Keep Myself Awake by Black Lab is copyright Geffen Records, EMI Blackwood Music and TVT Records. Marty McFly / Back To The Future and copyright Warner Bros. Cable created by Rob Liefield and copyright Marvel Comics and Toy Biz. Ashley J Williams / The Evil Dead are copyright Sam and Ted Raimi. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.


	3. Part 02A

**EVEN FLOW**

R E V E R S I O N E D

A BISHOJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON Fan Fiction

By Nicholas Clark (Warriorsong)

_Comprising the original fan fictions Even Flow Chapter 7 - Those Awake And Those Asleep, Release From Guilt, Even Flow Chapter 8 - House Call and Chapter 9 - Unveiling_

**2A. CHOICES, PROMISES, LIES**

**Chapter Seven**

**THOSE ASLEEP AND THOSE AWAKE**

_"You don't remember the things you won't_

_You won't let people inside your soul_

_But I know what I love you for_

_The pride of teardrops"_

_Mark Piovanetti - "Go To Sleep" - Songs Of The Witchblade OST Album_

-------

He sat up. His head felt it was filled with cotton wool. He made his hands into fists and ground them into his eye sockets, hoping some sort of external stimuli would ground him back in reality. Gentle, cool hands pulled his fists away and pushed him back into the soft down of the pillows.

"Water?" asked a voice, one he knew far too well.

"Good morning Setsuna," he choked, the cotton wool feeling had migrated into his mouth, and "did I eat a vacuum cleaner bag?"

"Not quite. You got into a fight and overextended yourself"

Recollections of the battle played across Naydar's mindscape. "Did I beat them?"

"Yes and quite satisfactorily, apart from the property damage your family seems intent on creating."

Naydar would have laughed. He just didn't feel up to it. He sensed she had questions, many of them and that would require him to think and decide what he could and what he could not tell her. And that was aside from the bits he could or couldn't remember. The bonus of having her as a tutor when he was younger was his more than healthy respect for the time-stream and all its subtle and unexplained nuances.

She seemed to sense what was going on in his head and she placed the water beside the bed with a wet clunk. She left the room, the only sound her skirts rustling.

-------

He was and he knew this, for all intents and purposes dead. His body would be lying cold and clammy in a muddy crater in just over three thousand years time. The original soul of this current body had passed into Limbo, letting him take the body for his own purposes, thankfully the body had retained some memories of this world and its workings.

His purposes? That was the crux of his problems. How much to tell Pluto? She had taught him, about the timelines and other reality bending occurrences. Now he was one. Could he reveal what was going to happen? Could he withhold such information? What wards was it that Serenity had mentioned to Pluto? Too many questions! Although he did know one thing for certain - any prospect of destruction aimed at the Senshi had to be met with brutal, excessive and terminal force. They had their destinies mapped out, as much as was possible, set in the ripples. He could not risk them dying and plunging this world and his into a dark chaos. That and the blank as to specifics - why, what had prompted his being returned? Death and pain, they both haunted his dreams, his family and friends dead and defiled.

He, or at least the quiet part of him, chuckled dryly. This almost echoed the Jack-mind's memories of a comic book storyline.

The fact that he was here, and had never heard of himself being here, even in the whispers of eavesdropping during childhood, was one portent he could not ignore. The fact he WAS here, undeniable as it was, could already have irrevocably disturbed the flow of time's river.

He stood up, shaky and disorientated. Walking into the ensuite, he placed his hands besides the basin, his eyes downcast. Slowly - fearing what he would see in the mirror - he looked up. He could see the changes. They were even more pronounced that he had expected. The blue flecks in his brown eyes had become visible; his hair had gone from the original length when he had woken up to being down to the bottom of his ears. Thick blonde streaks, a genetic carry-over from his mother, were noticeable.

Obviously, the transformation was accelerating his possession of Jack's body. He turned the hot tap on, the water's gentle lapping and gurgling providing a soothing counterpoint to his more turbid thoughts. Water always made him feel comfortable.

-------

Setsuna stood on the balcony, looking out over the expanse of Tokyo. Another safehouse; this one far enough away from the mansion to be private but close enough to be convenient. The sun had just set, casting a purple and pink swirl of pastel colours through the pollution that hung in the sky like a blanket.

Behind her, the ranch slider slid open (as they are wont to do), and she turned around. Naydar stood there, a cup of steaming hot coffee, held out to her. She gratefully took it, smiling and returned to her contemplation of the city.

He took a position beside her, his elbows resting on the railing and his hands cupping the warm ceramic of the mug. He was comfortable inside the large baggy sweat pants and the thick jersey, his longish hair blowing about his face.

"So," she began, pleasantries aside until later, "what's with the hair?"

"Nice, isn't it," he replied sarcastically.

"Quite," she said dryly, "What I am referring too however is why it is now brown, yet when you were fighting those youma, it was blonde."

"Oh?" he stated.

He sighed. He hadn't known it had changed back to his normal colour and length when he was fighting. It did confirm his suspicions however about the control he was exerting over the body and how it was accelerated by the transformation.

"Yes," she continued, "it is brown now, when it was blonde previously."

"Look closer," he said as she turned to him. The Jack-mind was making some off-colour sarcastic remark about being a super something or other. Naydar pushed it aside. The cool air seemed not to affect her in the least, her dark blue jeans and grey turtleneck sweater seeming to ward off the chill, one that he only seemed to feel. In his heart.

Looking into his face, she gazed into his eyes. "Your eyes are brown too." she exclaimed calmly, simply observing.

"True, but look closer."

She focused her eyes and hurriedly stepped back.

"Blue," she said.

"As far as I can tell," Naydar began, a contemplative look upon this face that was not his own, "my soul is gradually taking over this body. Before the fight, the difference wasn't as pronounced, I fact I had trouble recognizing myself. My transformation seems to have strengthened my grip on this body."

Setsuna cast her eyes downward, "I'm sorry."

"You've already said that. As for forgiveness, I don't know what kind of trouble I'm in so I'll have to pass judgement later." A cocky smirk indicated his half-joking tone, before he continued more seriously, "But for now I don't hold you in any position of responsibility. You had to do it. I don't hold you to blame."

"Judging from what I believe happened, I must have had little or no idea of the consequences and what will, or would, occur."

The verb confusion was starting to hurt his head a bit, but he followed along. "Are you, the great Setsuna, admitting lack of knowledge?"

She grimaced at him, a grin hiding behind her eyes "Don't let it get out."

He made a zipping motion over his lips.

She smiled at him, warm and comforting, like when he was a boy. "And so my dear child, what happened?"

Naydar took a deep breath, "From what I can pick out, it is still kind of muddled, I screamed and screamed and screamed..."

The moon began to rise behind the Tokyo Tower.

-------

The white clad, white skinned figure shrieked in rage. Again.

He had killed several of his youma servitors, absorbing their essence into himself yet it failed to curb his boiling temper.

The constant shrieking had stained his shirt with greyish ichor, spittle flying as he swore and ranted.

"Curse you fucking Senshi!" he hissed before disappearing in a shimmer of heat and dislocated atoms.

He liked being a bad guy. He could swear and do nasty things for no apparent reason. Plus he gained an aesthetic satisfaction from terror.

-------

Mamoru, across the city from a similar balcony, stood quietly on his own. He, Artemis and Luna had been discussing the possible threats and their origins. A resurgence of the Negaverse was most likely yet the death of Metallia should have negated that threat effectively until the Black Moon invasion around about the Year Three Thousand.

Luna had left to return home, sensing there was something the two male members of their contingent needed to discuss. Artemis felt much the same. Making a promise to return, Artemis had left before Mamoru left to meet Usagi.

Dinner had been a bit awkward. Mamoru knew that Usagi could tell he was thinking about something and she didn't want to bring it up. Conversation had been mainly on their studies and other day to day activities. When he had escorted her to her front door, he declined her invitation to come in for coffee.

Kissing her goodnight, he had then embraced her, and feeling the tears, rather than seeing them coming he had whispered in her ear.

"Know that I love you and would never ever let you be hurt."

Hoping that the cryptic response wouldn't upset her further he had returned to his apartment and a waiting feline.

Now, Mamoru looked down at the white cat, perched atop the plastic patio table.

"Do you want to tell me what is bugging you now that Luna has left?"

Mamoru was still surprised, even after these four years, at how this cat could play so many expressions across his face.

"You remember about nine months back?"

Artemis blanched.

"I will take that as a yes," Mamoru continued, "well, like then, I am worried. Not about my 'male pride' (he made air quotes around these words), but our survival rate."

Artemis made to speak, but Mamoru signalled that he hadn't finished.

"Beryl and Galaxia both decimated us. Killed us all. In fact most enemies and the major threat behind them gave us a serious run for our money. Only Usagi seems to withstand, reviving us when necessary with the Crystal, even dying herself. I know I become King. I know that I love Usagi, more than I love life itself. I know that I will die for her. But I cannot, will not, accept the possibility of her dying. Again, permanently. Especially not to save me. And with this new hiccup in the timeline who knows what future we're on track to? What I want to know is how I can get stronger, worthy of being her consort, worthy of my task."

Artemis looked sidelong at Mamoru. The old conversation had brought himself and Luna to a new understanding. It echoed in his mind. The tone was different.

Artemis grinned. The one thing that Mamoru always lacked or seemed to lack, was the passion, the heat that drove the other Senshi. Maybe he needed to get in touch with it himself. He was usually reserved to the point of being a statue, except around Usagi. Now a flame had burst forth. At long last whatever remaining walls he had built around his heart during his years of being alone and unwanted, had vanished. Usagi having given him the strength to pull them down.

"I would tear down mountains with my bare hands to keep her safe. I need to be stronger, for her, our daughter, our friends and our world."

Artemis had waited for this. Mamoru's early life had been hard. He had become cold and distant when young. This was the Endymion of the Silver Millennium, a man or purpose and fire. It should have fallen to the Generals to train him. Now it fell to Artemis.

"A mountain may be a bit much to begin with. We'll have to start with something smaller," the cat said, for once all humour stripped from his voice.

-------

Ami sat in the semi-lit room, her fingers flying over the keys of her computer, lightning fast. After isolating most of the magical induced spikes on the electro-magnetic spectrum via the global positioning system, she had set up a trace program to follow any large-scale movements, such as transcontinental travel and any flares on the assigned spikes. Ami was actually shocked at the amount of magic enhanced and capable individuals on the planet. Senshi derivative energy signatures flared consistently around the Tokyo-Japan region, but strange as it was at first, the evidence of spikes as far afield as mainland India, south western Australia and both American continents had been confirmed by some back tracking in her own mind. These flares coincided with periods of little contact between Inner and Outer Senshi. These periods usually ended with a gathering of some description in which Hotaru was older in appearance. Add to that the scientific readings indicating energy that matched the bio-signatures of both Hotaru and Setsuna, and an answer could easily be reached.

Setsuna and Hotaru had been freelancing. Globally and if the opposing energy was correct, their adversaries were denizens of the Negaverse or creatures of similar construct.

However that was all some three hours ago. A spike, relayed in almost real time, satellite to moon computer had caught Ami's attention and quickly faded. The signal from this particular spike was massive. While its power output was similar to that of a Senshi, other readings Ami had been able to isolate from infrared tracking and defence satellites allowed her to deduce that the rating was due to temporal residue, or the leftovers that clung on after a jump. Logical conclusion were that either someone had arrived back, left to head forward, or two of either situation had confronted one another, most likely Setsuna and the traveller she was investigating. Underlying readings were there also, but were being fudged by the high energy output and its static resonance on the satellite imagery.

Ami sighed and rubbed her eyes. She had left the shrine as night had begun to fall, Urawa having driven to pick her up. She had silently entered the car and continued her typing, much as she had for the past five hours.

The figure in the doorway sighed under his breath. He had been standing here for a few minutes and she had not so much as acknowledged his presence. That he could understand. Tension had been building slowly since the day of the party, as though some foreboding had swept over them all.

He had felt it. It had left him sweaty and cold, ripped from sleep. He couldn't see much, just a wall of impenetrable darkness, rolling over the lands like a nuclear fire.

He had said nothing. His visions had been few and far between since the crystal was ripped from him. Or at least that is what he had told her.

He continued to watch her work, taking comfort from her presence if not her company.

She simply continued to type.

-------

Makoto was asleep. That tends to be a common thing at about midnight. She was curled up in a ball with a large teddy bear clutched in her arms. She was smiling. Her lime green flannel pyjamas reflected an almost dryad like quality against her rich auburn hair and the large potted plants that stood in each corner of the room, seemingly holding up the roof, similar to ornate columns.

-------

Minako was also asleep, yet it was far from peaceful. Fitfully tossing and turning, her white satin pyjamas threatening to slide her out of the warm confines of the duvet.

Her feet kicked restlessly. In her dream state she could sense something missing; a warm something.

The window across the room was slightly open, a soft breeze wafting the smell of the night throughout the room.

Minako kicked again and rolled over, promptly falling out of bed.

-------

Usagi was snoring. Spread-eagled, she had no impediment to her breathing, yet the sounds of a rusty chainsaw echoed from her mouth. The arms and legs of her pink flannel pyjamas had been scrunched up to her elbows and knees during the nocturnal wanderings of her limbs. Now, assumed in their customary star shaped pattern, she was sawing wood.

At the foot of the bed, miraculously unscathed by flailing parts of Usagi, a small black cat had its paws over its ears in an abject display of misery.

-------

The balcony was cooler now.

"All I really seemed to feel over the entire stay in that hospital was a displacement, a quasi half-consciousness and a shitload of sedatives."

"So basically the original soul residue was still in this young man's body keeping it going, in a way, as if it were waiting for you, or its master, even, to return."

"Right, but it, I mean Jack, couldn't handle things after it became apparent what I was. Thing is it's still in there," Naydar said tapping his forehead, "commenting about things like it's a bad movie and it can see the plot-holes."

"I may ask Mars to take a look at you, make sure everything is okay." Setsuna noted the fact he referred to the other sentience in the first person, like it was there with them. She noted to investigate the matter further.

"Oh," said Naydar, "he's still in there alright, he just seems content to sit back and not cause any trouble, aside from the commentary of course."

"Still, in this sort of thing you need to be cautious."

"True."

The wind blew Naydar's hair into his mouth. It tasted awful.

"Say, Setsuna?"

"Yes?" she replied.

"I couldn't get cleaned up and all could I?"

"Sure, I was going to head over to the all night store anyways and get some food. If anything is certain, your appetite is and judging by this body and the energy you exhausted earlier, its needs more fuel than it has been receiving."

"Groovy. I am one hungry hombre." Naydar's eyebrows rose.

"I see your penchant for the vernacular is ever present still."

"Can't get rid of my adorable characters traits now, can I? Still it makes it harder to be as serious as I want with a hormonal teenage body that hasn't had a good burn off for several months." he grinned, slightly confused, and walked inside.

Setsuna shrugged and followed him. She stopped at the coffee table, grabbing the keys for her small green convertible.

A bellow sounded from the other end of the apartment, "Yo, where the towels and stuff."

"The towels and stuff, as you put it, should be in the closet besides the bathroom."

"Cheers," he replied after some mumbled swearing.

She turned and headed towards the door and the elevator that would eventually lead her to the parking garage. From memory, if it served her correctly, Naydar took a large size in everything. Not that he was fat by any means. He was large. He took after his mother in height and hair as well as temper. If his theory on his body was in evidence, the rather lanky form of Jack Argusson would begin to fill out very soon.

The elevator 'chlinged' as it reached the basement level and opened its doors to the harsh artificial light. Setsuna headed off towards her car, ponderings about residue and host personality transference flitting through her mind's eye.

-------

Sleep was a common thing on this rather ordinary evening. However, select individuals due to reasons of their own and the reasons of others, remained awake. One such person was Tomoe Hotaru.

Hotaru, groggy and sleepy eyed, stumbled down the hallway. Sleep was a fleeting companion this evening and it was annoying. She was tired, and compounded on the revelations the Senshi had received earlier in the day; this made her rather irritable.

She stopped at the large double doors and looked through the slightly ajar opening.

Haruka lay on her back, her grey shorts and t-shirt ample cover in the air-conditioned room. Michiru, her grey sweat trousers and lime crop top scrunched on her curled up form, her head resting on her partner's shoulder. Both seemed more than comfortable even though the sheets and bedding had been thrown onto the floor.

Hotaru quietly closed the door and walked off again, a look of disgust on her face. No conversation there.

She stopped in the burnished chrome and glass kitchen. Switching on a single bulb, embedded in the wall, allowed comfort of movement. Glasses chinked quietly as she moved one out of the cupboard and onto the bench top.

The refrigerator opened, its buttery yellow light stinging her eyes. Taking the large bottle of water, Hotaru closed the door.

She unscrewed the cap and poured a generous glass, replacing the bottle in the fridge. She picked the glass up and wandered back to her bedroom.

Then she knew why she couldn't sleep. Setsuna's bedroom door was wide open. She was not home. Somehow this information, and the present circumstances, did little to make her want to sleep. She wandered back to her room anyway.

Maybe there was some good anime on television.

-------

A dull blinking light awoke a small black cat. Her heightened senses picked up the flicking quickly in the midnight dark. Her charge has rolled over, her snoring now sounding like the angry mumblings of a sea monster against the pillow.

The cat stood up slowly, again pondering the merits, albeit humiliation of a basket. She padded silently along the bed past her charge and up to the communicator on the dresser, her claws gently tapping on the enamelled wood and she rested her forepaws upon it.

She pushed the button.

"What Artemis?" she snapped, not happy that what little sleep she had been getting being disturbed by the silent page.

"Good morning dear," quipped Artemis unable to resist. Luna could make out a quiet groan in the background.

"I hope for you sake that there is some global catastrophe about to befall humanity."

"No Luna, me and Mamoru are going to head off for a couple of days."

This immediately woke the cat up. These two had become very fast friends over the years and anything that involved them both, at the same time may prove to be more destructive that a youma on a bad acid trip.

Artemis seemed to sense the turning of mind in his female counterpart. She was thinking that it was hardly the time for it, considering Setsuna's revelation, to have any of then out of the city and unaccounted for. "No need to worry, we just want to get some training in."

"Training?" she said in a low whisper.

"Yes. Our King." Artemis sounded very proud. Luna couldn't help but smile.

"I will let them know."

"If you could wait until we are far enough away to prevent certain individuals tracking us down it would be appreciated." Artemis needn't mention said individuals, snoring in the background by name. She got very gloomy when Mamoru went away and often had been caught in the midst of plans to "surprise" him. Her managing to secure a ticket to the United States not the least case in point.

"Consider it done Artemis. Look after him. And yourself."

"Ditto."

The line went dead. Luna couldn't help but think, alone in the dark, how much she loved the flea-bitten old tom. Not that she would admit it to him as easily.

-------

A lone fire maiden, virtuous manifestation of the God of War, was asleep. Her friend's, throughout the rest of Tokyo, however, had assumed the more traditional aspect of sleep, that of lying down. She has sitting up, her head resting in her opened textbook.

Suddenly she snorted sitting up, the paper of the book sticking to the fine sheen of sweat on her forehead.

She felt something. Dark, malevolent and evil to its' rotten black core.

-------

He hadn't ventured out of the Dark Kingdom for centuries. He had been pushed to the background in the recruitment drive Beryl held, his skills and power left in the proverbial closet in favour of those pathetic mewling human 'Generals'.

It burned him, that fact, still, after all this time. It was partially what drove him to take command. After the death of the puppet bitch Beryl and the one pulling the strings, Metallia, the Negaverse had again been the home of its original inhabitants, the youma and nega humans. The nega humans had been pan-dimensional explorers, from the depths of antiquity, breeding with the early strains of youma. Then after years and Negaverse excursions into other realms of existence and the capture of slaves and breeding stock, more humanistic traits had been integrated into the bloodlines.

He was one such child. Humanoid, but not human like. He was almost a pinnacle of genetics, a humanoid form with a massive command of dark forces and no morals whatsoever.

He was also hungry. Very. Hunger consisted of many things for this dark creature. He hungered for soul energy.

And because even this hadn't been marketed and put in little disposable cartons (Oh! For the day!), he had to hunt. That was fine by him.

-------

Ami fell off her chair. A tremendous out surge of nega energy. She picked herself off the floor and checked her monitor. Yes, that was it, power measuring in at a level that could quite conceivably rival and even surpass, that of Metallia.

She wiped the sleep from her eyes, wondering if it had been imagined. As quickly as it had flared, the energy had dissipated.

-------

The woman's body fell to the wet ground, seemingly boneless. The white skinned, black haired creature grinned, its yellow teeth gleaming. A rough looking tongue licked bone white lips, leaving a trail of grey viscous saliva.

-------

Setsuna opened the door to the apartment, her arms full of shopping. A pair of strong hands plucked the shopping from her. She smiled gratefully.

"Twertn nuthin marm!" Naydar explained in a furiously irritating imitation of cockney accent.

He was wearing a large terry cloth robe, his blondish hair pushed behind his ears.

"So, you want me to rustle something up or what?" he asked.

Setsuna threw him another bag, this one containing jeans, belt, shirt and other necessary articles of clothing.

Naydar turned and wandered off towards 'his' room. He stopped and half turned, "What about eats?"

Setsuna held up her hand, index finger pointed straight up.

The doorbell chimed, a voice coming over the speaker box. "Pizza for Argusson!"

"Cool" said Naydar, over his shoulder, as he continuing to the bedroom. "Great timing"

Setsuna rolled her eyes at his back, grumbling to herself that the vernacular he persisted on using would get very old, very soon.

-------

Mamoru's battered old van, its greenish paint flaking, rolled down the street, it's rather skungy exterior masking its immaculate engine. It had become the "Senshi Mobile" of sorts, a homage given to it in reference to some American myth.

Artemis lay curled in the passenger seat, his white side rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Mamoru had to admit it, that while the cat seemed to take everything as a joke or game, when the chips were down, he could get things going quicker than a bad curry.

Mamoru shuddered at the metaphor. Too much western television. Better not let Usagi hear him talk like that, she would either clock him or have hysterics.

The cat had made stuff happen nonetheless. He had paged Luna using a silent alarm, on Mamoru's near mint communicator. Within thirty minutes of that call, they were bound for the wilderness and isolation.

Time to make his baby proud.

Damn macho crap. He shrugged. At least, he knew what to look out for and avoid. What had happened nine months ago was not an experience he wished to undergo again.

-------

It wasn't just pizza. There was a large amount of prepacked food in the bags. Naydar was chowing down, and loving it.

Setsuna, used to the gustive accomplishments of Usagi was unfazed yet rather concerned that Naydar was going to do himself an injury or at least depopulate a smaller country.

He leaned back, wiping his lips on a napkin. "Alright, so where were we."

"I believe we had just finished covering your theory on how the transformation and possession works. I believe that we were going to discuss the why behind the how?"

"Ah, and there is the rub. To tell, or not to tell. Or more precisely, what to tell."

"And..." prodded Setsuna.

"And I will tell you everything, or at least as much as I know."

"I sense a 'but' coming."

"And you would be right, I want to test my theory first."

"Go ahead."

Naydar stood and placed his left fist in his right palm. A peace seemed to surround his body, followed by a massive outpouring of grey electricity that set the oven timer off in the room next door.

Naydar was left standing there, his 'uniform' now in place of his jeans and shirt. A disgruntled look appeared on his face, as he was enshrouded by the grey static haze.

"Why the face?"

"Cos I look like a pirate. Just give me an eyepatch and a parrot and I'm set." The real disappointment was that it wasn't his transformation. Upon reaching the rank of Captain, he had undergone an upgrade, of sorts. This outfit was his basic, original transformation.

"No need to dress up for Halloween. And yes, to your unspoken question."

"What exactly?"

"You look bigger, more 'built' as they say. Excuse me."

Setsuna leaned forward and reached behind her back, her communicator appearing in her hand. She pushed a button and brought it to her mouth.

"Hello Ami. Yes. No. Come on over. No, I'll send the co-ordinates. Right, ten minutes."

"Mercury, I take it?" asked Naydar.

"Yes and she'll be here soon. I knew she was going to try and monitor any magical and nega activity so I correctly assumed she would know you changed almost as soon as you did."

"And knowing Mercury, it was along the lines of, 'Are you okay, are you in danger etcetera."

"Close enough." Although Setsuna sensed some sort of anger behind it, rare in itself for the temperate and mild mannered Ami

"Well, shall I make coffee, it's cold out this morning?" inquired Naydar.

**RELEASE FROM GUILT**

_"The sound of your voice_

_Painted on my memories_

_Even if you're not with me_

_I'm with you"_

_Linkin Park - "With You" - Hybrid Theory_

-------

Tears. Those salty tears that burn and chill at the same instant. Tears that fall for no reason other than the fact that the world has driven you down and you didn't notice it, at least until the first drop falls from your eye.

Makoto Kino cried. Pain, loss, sadness, rage and frustration. Tears do not just fall in joy and sorrow. Tears can fall for anything and everything. Such was the case.

Fourteen years old and she lay curled on her bed, grey leggings and thick forest green jersey, covering her body as she lay, tears staining her cheeks a pale white, her eyes a deep red and the sheets beneath her a damp puddle.

Makoto didn't know why she cried. Whether it was lost chances, missed opportunities or events she wished she could live again - make better. Make herself better.

It's a hard life, whatever way it is looked at. It doesn't matter how many friends love you and see you as a beacon and a stalwart pillar in their night and their darkness. How one sees oneself defines a person in a way that others can never truly fathom.

And this lies at the core of all. Identity, what makes you, you. At least it was for Makoto. She could she herself only as she perceived herself. Not how her friends perceived her. Omnipresence escaped her.

And how did she see herself? As a fighter, someone to stop the bullets? A lost cause? An anathema to those she came to love and hold dear?

-------

Ami was worried. The look that conveyed it on her face was similar to most other looks she carried, studious and intense. Makoto was worrying her. She saw Makoto as her best friend, a counterbalance to her, the other side of her coin. Yet her friend had been withdrawn, something in her eyes, yelling out for help, silent screams.

She loved Makoto, the warmth the girl had, her heart. A warmth that hid behind a brash and gruff exterior, a wall. A wall to stop the pain that she had known so much of in her young life. Her parents, she had thought the world of them and they had gone away; left her alone, her heart broken, some parts shattered and never to be replaced. Through no fault of her own.

The old boyfriend. That story they had not been able to get from Makoto. The constant references to him, yet behind it all a pain that she would not, or could not yet discuss. The girls all had their theories as to the boy's transgressions, yet they found no validation from Makoto.

They had all been made aware again. That had hurt them all. Pain like that was enough to break the strongest of men. Death, ice and blood. The void of oblivion, the lack of the comforting warmth of life. The nothing. It wasn't easy to know he pain of death, breathe it, embrace it and remember it in one crashing instant.

They were all worried; they all saw the change in Makoto, the shadow behind her eyes. She acted the same but she felt wrong, her gaze hiding a pain they couldn't grasp.

They had all tried to help her, bring her out of her fugue. Rei had taken her away for a weekend, deep in the mountains, pampered her with saunas, spas, massages and natural therapies. Usagi had taken her out, food in vast quantities, chocolate by the gallon. Minako and shopping, bags full of clothing. Ami had been there beside Makoto, in the quiet times, ready to listen.

They felt that they had their hands tied. They had all asked, pleaded her to tell them what was wrong, listened to her tell them she was fine, maybe just a bit tired.

They all felt useless, they knew their attempts were in vain, trying to coax Makoto from her shell with things they had enjoyed together, things that had brought them close, made them friends, made them sisters.

Usagi had even tried to make her a cake.

But in the end, all they could do was wait, (after calling the fire department) and hope, hope that they could be there for Makoto when she needed them.

-------

Flashes, simple events, flashing before her eyes in the convoluted dreamscape of nightmare, pictures that sleep forced upon her after her ragged eyes and hoarse throat could sob no more at the injustice.

Events cast in the bizarre glare of a strobe light, blinking on and off as the images moved jerkily like a mad dance, frenetic and disembodied.

Flash. Plane seats, an aisle and people, quietly sitting, the air supercharged with some sort of premonition. Flash. Blinding pain, light and flames, screams and bodies flailing in the throes of agony. Flash. The exterior of the aircraft, sleek, streamlined, a monument to man's engineering prowess. Flash. The plane erupting in a conflagration and breaking apart like a kite in a gale.

That was the first pain.

Flash. His face, angelic, smiling, beautific. Flash. A sneer and her heart breaking. The pain as he violated her, the betrayal of a trust and the fact that love meant nothing. Taken advantage of as a simple whim, her empty heart yearning for love, letting the pain in once more.

That was the second.

Flash. Ice, chill and harsh, not brittle but as strong as the ages that formed it. Flash. A dark shadow gliding slowly towards them over the ice. Flash. Red ice, blood ice - cold pain. Flash. Ice, cold, against her skin, the shadow standing before them, blocking out the faint sun.

Third pain.

These haunted her, waking and dreaming, and she blocked them out. The second had never happened, she denied, never been spoken of outside her mind, never discussed, hidden in the depths of her mind and rebelled from, yet its scars she bore to this day. The first and third she went through every day, the fact she was young and alone, the fact that she as a champion, faced the prospect of the third pain, or a fourth, every time she said those words.

A sob escaped the fetal cocoon her body had taken, the first sound in hours besides the harsh breathing, quivering tears of anguish shaking her athletic yet surprisingly frail body.

-------

Mizuno Ami lay quietly in her darkened room. She had tried to study, but it had been hard to concentrate with her friend in pain. Months ago, before she became aware of who she really was, she had no friends and study was an escape from the looks and taunts. Now she had friends and they meant the world to her. She had her own pain, her father leaving, her mother away at all hours, at a time when a daughter needs her mother most. And the last solidifying event that she and her friends had not spoken of by uniform pain, unspoken agreement, the Arctic. D-Point.

Ami stood quietly, her bed creaking beneath her as the weight shifted. Silent so as not to wake her mother she moved to the door and checked the hallway. Silent. Ami moved to the landing and descended the stairs.

The door clicked quietly behind her in the dead midnight of three in the morning.

No one should have to be alone, suffer alone.

-------

Makoto lay in her ball, quiet and cold, silent tears still streaming down her face. She felt no compulsion to retreat to the warmth under her duvet, nor to grace her body with food or drink. Suffering emotionally felt better with a physical companion, a bodily need deprived.

A warm hand on her shoulder.

Makoto didn't move to see the newcomer. Why should she, perhaps her demons had come to torment her in body as they did in mind, perhaps he had come to force himself upon her the way he had before, laughing and mocking. Maybe Beryl would finally send her to hell for causing all she loved to be hurt and die. Maybe her parents had come back to curse her for being a bad daughter and making them ashamed, even in their final rest.

The hand remained and there was warmth. A hug, simple contact with another person, no catches, no price tag, unassuming comfort. Just the understanding conveying itself in the form of an embrace.

No talk, just acceptance.

-------

Makoto realised what she had done. She believed that being alone and carrying her pain would save others from the burden, and not give them undue hurt. But her pain caused those she loved to suffer, through worry. Guilt is like cancer, its eats away at you, killing the spirit rather than the body.

In the predawn light, some sleep had helped her gain some composure and she let her pain flow, unjudged and understood as Ami listened. How she felt guilt for surviving while her parents did not, that she was a disappointment to them, the pawing she had suffered at his hands, believing for so long that love was pain, twisting the emotion, then finding it was merely a cruel game, black and heartless. And unspoken it remained, as they both cried in each others arms the shared pain of death and rebirth, heightened by the fact it was in a total awareness. Shared; not alone. And she didn't speak in reply, merely listened, the most powerful of gifts.

Tears. Salty tears that burn and chill at the same instant. Tears that heal, cathartic and metamorphic. Tears that carry no shame.

**Chapter Eight**

**HOUSE CALL**

_"Yes, I'm the one who, the only one who_

_Would carry on this far, torn, I'm filthy_

_Born in my own misery_

_Stole all that you gave me"_

_Creed - "Torn" - My Own Prison_

-------

Naydar rose and entered the kitchen, his jeans and shirt rustling in the still early morning moonlight. In was dark in the sitting room, what little illumination besides that from outside came from a small table lamp off in the far corner.

Setsuna watched him leave, her eyes sad. He had been through something that even she, in her millennia's of watching and doing, could never hope to experience. A pain on a soul level, a ripping and throwing, and that topped off with seeing his friend's and family die, as well as himself. Then the waking up, in a scared and lonely body that wasn't his and finding he was thousands of years in the past.

He had deliberately skirted around details of this battle that destroyed his world and the enemies involved. He would tell her when it was necessary. She could see him hiding the pain as best he could when he talked, but his eyes, the eyes of his new body conveyed a boundless pain.

His not relaying the details scared her somewhat. She understood his reluctance, had experienced it herself on many occasions. Yet her own warning to herself scared her more so. A blank piece of paper; forbidden correspondence between herself and herself across the ages. Violating a tryst as sacred as time, would not be undertaken lightly.

She was not looking forward to his meeting with Ami, his reaction, if he would let anything slip. Yet Ami and Rei were the two she would need most now, that he would need most. Ami would be asked to check him for any medical anomalies, Rei, those of the spirit. His meeting with his parents would be worse. And extremely complicated to explain.

The jug began to whistle gently in the kitchen.

Setsuna stood up and walked towards the balcony, the cold glass shutting out the night. The glass door slid open under Setsuna's hand as she steeped into the night air, hugging her shoulders. Ami couldn't be far off.

-------

Naydar stood quietly, his hips resting against the kitchen counter as he folded his arms, warming himself from the chill he felt in his heart.

He could see his life, his training, his graduation in the use of his powers, what he was capable of. What he wasn't. He remembered the betrayal of Adonis, his friend; the Second Nemesis War, the death of Bellerephon, her death and all the other moments that had defined him and made him who he was. The pain that had forged his spirit, made him the man he had been. He had been, past tense, future time. And now he knew the boy's memories as well, was stuck with a body and a mind so far removed from his own that he felt lost and alone, speaking in a way that confused him and truth be told, irritated the piss out of him.

But he couldn't remember the why and the wherefore of the last battle, what he should be so readily able to recall. Oh, he could see the demons streaking from the atmosphere of the moon like possessed meteorites raining death and despair on the people of Earth and the planetary systems he called home, but why it happened was beyond him.

The chill wouldn't go away. And he felt like he had betrayed himself, by not knowing, not being able to help. And he couldn't tell Setsuna, not because of temporal mechanics and innuendo, but because he simply had no idea.

-------

Ami Mizuno, The Senshi of Ice, Avatar of Mercury, bounded catlike from rooftop to fire escape to flagpole to rooftop. It had taken some talking into, but Mamoru had convinced the Senshi, with the help of Uranus and Neptune, that to avoid public scenes and being held up by various land based hazards, the rooftops, or the 'Thieves Highway' was the way to travel.

And from a strategic point of view, the battle could be seen easier before being dropped into, enabling a better preliminary judgement to be made.

Ami stopped in the waning moonlight atop a larger office building, the only source of nocturnal illumination attempting to hide behind the spire of the Tokyo Tower. She was being too harsh on Setsuna, and the secrets that she had uncovered. The youma attacks and the training of Saturn must have a more logical explanation rather than the Time Senshi operating under her own agenda. Now a more pressing concern was the fact that the new energy and Setsuna's were together. She would watch and wait before announcing she knew of the training and the supposed duplicity, perhaps the newcomer was the reason for her hiding the majority of what she knew.

Pushing off with her enhanced strength, she leaped into the empty air, continuing on her way.

-------

Setsuna stepped aside as Mercury landed with a gentle thud besides her.

"Good morning Ami."

Ribbons and bubbles rippled around the blue haired girl, as she became Ami Mizuno. Her thick sky blue jersey and dark grey slacks covered her from ankle to chin in the cool air.

Her feet were bare.

"Good morning to you also, Setsuna"

Setsuna grinned, she could she the normally reserved girl was almost busting at the seams. Thankfully whatever anger she had sensed earlier had dissipated on the way over.

"Relax, Ami-chan, he's inside making coffee." That got Ami's attention, her eyes almost glowing in the post midnight dark. "But," continued Setsuna, "I want you to run a full scan on him without his knowing, I don't want to alarm him. He has been through a bit and I would prefer to have him, my guest, at ease."

Ami nodded.

Setsuna hid a smile. Ami was going to scan him anyway. It was her nature, the drive to understand all facets of everything.

"Come in," said Setsuna as she slid open the large glass door.

Ami entered, and waited as Setsuna closed the door and walked to her side.

"Please sit," Setsuna said as she indicated the couch before them and walked towards the enamelled flooring that led off down a hallway. Ami removed her mini-computer, tapping rapidly on the keys to initiate a full bio-scan to include viral, bacteria and physiological abnormalities. As a second thought, she also instructed her computer to run a DNA and energy signature trace on the as yet unseen guest.

Setsuna had walked partially onto the linoleum, still in view of Ami, before calling out, "Jack, Ami's here."

"Righto, won't be a tick," a masculine voice called from the kitchen. The voice was somewhat strained, like it was having trouble speaking, grating slightly in the throat or similar.

Setsuna turned back to Ami, who had the unspoken question written across her face almost as clear as the words, "How does he know me?"

Setsuna looked at Ami and said solemnly, "I will let him explain."

With that, almost on cue, the unseen visitor, Jack, as Setsuna had called him, entered. He had decided beforehand to use this body's name, disregarding the notion of using Naydar quickly, hoping for at least some anonymity.

Ami looked up to see a tall athletic man, his chin length brown hair flecked with a rich glowing blonde. His eyes were almost unreadable except for a brief flash of pain.

This look flashed over his face quickly but he fought it down, hoping it went unnoticed.

Both women however saw it.

Jack placed the service containing the cups, carafe, sugar and milk onto the table and wiped his hand on his pant leg.

"Hello, I'm Jack Argusson." He resisted saying it was good to see her again. That would make her uncomfortable and get her mind working. Getting Ami thinking was a bad idea. Although it was good to see her again. The last time had been rather unpleasant.

"Hello, I am Mizuno Ami, it is nice to meet you, Mr. Argusson."

"Just Jack is fine." He would feel more comfortable when this was over, but having her at least address him as an equal or a peer would go towards making it easier.

Setsuna signalled them to sit. Ami reached behind herself on the pretence of rearranging cushions, however she quickly slipped her hand into the sub space pocket and activated the bio-scan.

"Coffee?" asked Setsuna, playing the host.

"Yes, please." Ami replied as she watched the man across from her lean back and spread his arms along the back of the sofa. He yawned, his mouth open wide. He realised and grinned sheepishly as Setsuna sighed.

"Sorry Ami, he's been like that since he was a child."

Jack sat upright, looking somewhat aghast. Setsuna had dropped a big hint right there. Obviously she knew that it would be picked up on, so what was she playing at?

Ami chuckled, it was like watching the interchange of close family, such as Usagi and Shingo, or even Chibi-Usa. It lifted an otherwise solemn air.

"Where do you want me to start Ami?" he asked.

She ignored the informality of his address and said, "The beginning."

-------

Dawn crept slowly over the Pacific, touching the nation of Japan, and in particular the battered van that sped north along the highway. The two occupants of the vehicle sat in the front seats, the smaller of which was curled upon the passenger seat, its white furred chest rising and falling. The second occupant, the man that was driving looked down at his companion and sipped on the coffee he held in the hand that wasn't rested lightly on the steering wheel.

"This would be easier if he had thumbs," he muttered, his eyes returning to the road.

-------

Some time later, dawn arrived in all its fiery glory; the burning orb dispelling the nightmares of dreams like a priest exorcises evil spirits. Or, at least, that is how Yuuichirou saw it. He stood at the top of the steps to the Hikawa Shrine, his weapon of choice; like Rei's - the broom, at the ready.

Today, the day looked to be good.

He turned to the flagstones behind him, the rogue leaves settling after an errant breeze. He firmed his chin and went to war, a campaign he had joined out of love and devotion to a young woman and an old man.

A young woman. Hino Rei. He smiled. As dawn's advance scouts had crept through the blinds in his room, he had awoken, and as habit had formed, he checked on his housemates.

He had ceased to think of them as hosts, and now they were family. He checked them in the morning for two reasons, one that they were okay and the second was to see the face of his love Rei, unveiled, her emotion clear, not hidden by her will.

He didn't admit that he felt he needed to do this for them, as they had taken him in, allowed him to become a friend, a family member.

Rei had been asleep, her head on her arms, resting upon her textbooks. He worried that she pushed herself too far, too hard.

He let her sleep. She had class at ten, in four hours time. He would wake her in two hours or so.

He redoubled his attack on the leaves. He had much to do today.

-------

Time passed some more, as it tends to do. By this time, the sleeping priestess had been woken and across the city, the Sailor Senshi began their day's activities.

Except one. She wasn't where she normally was. This bothered Urawa. She normally came to bed after any work she was completing, not falling asleep in her books. He grabbed his jeans off the floor and pulled them on over his boxers as he climbed out of the cold bed.

Scratching his head and the stubble on his chin, he walked towards the study. It was quite beneficial him living with Ami and her mother. When Ami and he had realised their feelings for one another Ami's mother had actually suggested it. That was some few months after Galaxia.

Now half a year or so later, it was almost as if the pair where married, Dr Mizuno barely being away from the hospital. That was another worry both Urawa and Ami shared.

At the study door, Urawa knocked; hoping that Ami was there and asleep. It had not happened yet, but he feared it. That one morning she would be gone.

He hoped it wasn't the case today and slowly he pushed his hand out to push the door open.

The harsh chime of the telephone bit through the air.

Urawa jumped.

Sighing under his breath that he could evade opening the study door for a little while longer, he walked towards the phone.

"Morning," he said, trying to sound more awake then he was.

"Good morning Urawa, its Setsuna."

"Ah, hello, how are you?"

"Fine. Before you get all worried, Ami is here with me, we had something to do."

Urawa took his first deep breath of the day, relieved. He noticed the slight emphasis on the word 'something', but let it slide.

"Is she okay?"

"She is fine. However, she will not be attending class today. Could you possibly drop her work and assignments in."

Even though Ami was on holiday from Helvetica, she had requested that her tutors give her work that could possibly be done under the medical research branch at Tokyo University. She had gained permission to sit in on classes as well.

"Sure, I am going to University anyway so I might as well." Due to Urawa's status as a student researcher, he had managed, via his employers to gain the use of some facilities at the University, in order to continue his work as well as be closer to Ami.

"Thank you, Urawa"

"Setsuna, give her my love."

"I shall, goodbye."

"Later," said Urawa, followed quickly by a dial tone. One thing about his Ami, she could afford to take time off, even though she didn't. She was already a month ahead and top of the class. In both schools, one on either side of the world.

He shook his head.

Urawa stumbled towards the kitchen, thoughts of coffee dancing in his head.

-------

Michiru sat quietly, her violin rested lightly under her chin, the bow ready to dart across the strings. It was quiet in the Outer's Mansion.

Setsuna was AWOL, as was often the case when a crisis loomed. Michiru was confident that whatever she was dealing with would be revealed.

Haruka had gone to the track. Her adrenaline had needed to be released in a cloud of carbon monoxide and the screeching of tires on tarmac. While Michiru would have been happy to accompany her, they respected each other's need to be apart. Also Haruka hated losing. Especially in front of her partner. After an early brunch, she had called the track. Her chief competitor and racing friend was at the track. Michiru had met the young man on occasion, he seemed nice and was skilled in racing and engines. Very few people were spoken highly of by Haruka. This Morisato however, was one such person.

So her lover was off racing. Like the wind.

Hotaru was asleep. Michiru had heard her wandering around during the night. They often underestimated the effect that such news had on the girl, her power being as it was. Michiru had decided to let her sleep.

Michiru gently passed the bow across the violin strings, playing from memory an American rock ballad that had been on the radio during breakfast.

-------

Hotaru however was not asleep. She sat on her bed, her pyjamas crumpled. Mournful music echoed out of her stereo, the eerie tune of the bagpipes.

Across her folded legs sat the Silence Glaive, its blade, glinting in the half-light that crept through the partially closed blinds.

A gentle breeze wafted in the window, the smell of damp earth and grass being shredded on the wind as it passed over the blade.

Her short-cropped hair covered her head as it hung down.

A keen ear could pick out a soft falling noise under the pipes as a tear crashed onto the blade of the Silence Glaive, so sharp as to sever the umbilical cord of reality and existence.

-------

Ami groggily sat up. She must have dozed off on the large couch in Setsuna's living room. As if on cue, the dark haired woman entered the room, her hair damp, clothed in a large teal green robe.

"Good afternoon, Ami."

Ami sat bolt upright, barely keeping her balance. "Afternoon!"

"Yes, but only just. Do not worry, Urawa has handed your work into your tutors and lecturers."

"That's not the point, I should be in class."

"No actually you should be resting. And anyway, you're what, three, four weeks ahead."

"Five." Ami muttered, looking sheepish.

Setsuna could hear plainly but decided to not say anything, besides the small smile that danced across her face.

"We need to discuss what you found out last night anyhow."

"Oh last night," exclaimed Ami, reaching for the subspace pocket.

"But after you have had a shower and Jack returns."

"But..." Ami stammered.

"No buts, Mercury, I will pull rank." Setsuna said, the threat empty but enough to lighten the scientist's mood. "Give me the computer and go get cleaned up."

"What about clothes?"

"This is a safe house remember. There are clothes for each of you."

Ami smiled and walked off.

"Um, Ami? Computer please."

Ami resisted the urge to be unladylike and poke her tongue at Setsuna. The thumbprint lock could keep the other data Ami had requested under its priority security.

-------

Further north and off the beaten track, a man and a cat sat in a quiet rest area on the side of the road. The cat was whistling to itself (done amazingly without lips), while the man made use of the facilities provided.

The man emerged from the small brick building, having changed his shirt and washed his face. He stood blinking in the bright light after the semi gloom of the restrooms.

His blue jeans and black boots looked warm in the sun, while his gray t-shirt looked more comfortable than the wrinkled shirt under his arm.

"Oi Artemis" he called to the white feline that was wandering around, its nose scrunched up.

The cat trotted over to him and leapt onto his shoulder.

"What's the problem, buddy? Sleep too much?"

"Aha, funny man. No, a dog has been here recently. Filthy creature."

Mamoru chuckled and opened the driver's side door to the van. Artemis leapt into the passenger seat and sat looking attentive. It was somewhat spoiled by the fact he couldn't see over the dashboard.

"How much further?" asked Mamoru.

"Oh there are some hot springs are few hours north, right on the edge of a natural preserve. We'll stop at the ryokan there."

"Cool," said Mamoru Chiba, "I could do with some sleep."

"Speaking of sleep," the cat said, "I had the oddest dream that I had hands instead of paws."

"How very odd indeed," replied Mamoru, his face absolutely straight, except for a scrunching at the corners of his eyes.

-------

Usagi sat under the shade of a large overhanging branch, in the large grass area that served as a relaxation area for student of Tokyo University. The sun played gently through the leaves above the dappled light and drifting leaves lulling her into a soft doze.

A thud and pressure on her lap made her jump and see a form blocking the light above her. The tall form came closer to reveal Rei Hino, her face with a look of disgust on it. Her textbook had been dropped unceremoniously into Usagi's lap.

"Not sleep enough last night?"

Usagi poked her tongue out and sat up straighter. Rei sat beside her. "Hard morning?" Usagi asked.

"No, it's just that the damn text is too wordy. I borrowed last years one which has the same stuff and it's easier to understand."

"Buy a copy then and correlate the two."

Rei looked at Usagi, surprised at the word 'correlate' escaping her lips. "Um Usagi, did you eat this morning?"

"Baka!" said Usagi, pretending to swat at Rei.

Rei laughed.

"Its the Two Stooges," said a voice.

The raven-haired and odango-haired girls looked up to see Minako, a cheerful smile on her face. Her eyes however were somewhat bloodshot.

"There were Three Stooges, Minako." Rei corrected.

"So? There are only two of you."

"She's got you there, Rei," said Usagi, a grin threatening to make the top of her head fall off.

"Quiet you." said Rei.

Minako sat down, a weary sigh escaping her. Ami had mentioned to the others that Minako was a bit down, they had all noticed, but took it to be 'other' things. This had gone on far too long however, and obviously playing around with the funnies wasn't helping.

"What is it Mina?" Usagi asked, her hand warm and comforting on her friend's shoulder.

"I just didn't sleep well. And Artemis has disappeared."

"Oh," said Usagi, "well I am going to see Mamo-chan this afternoon so I will ask him if he has seen him."

"No, you aren't"

That got the attention of the three girls. The voice had come out of the air above them. Makoto has tall but she wasn't that tall.

A black four-legged form landed gracefully in front of them.

"Afternoon Luna." said Rei.

The cat looked around cautiously, and meowed as a redhead and a blonde went passed, followed by a lanky dark haired boy.

When they had passed out of earshot, Luna continued. "Artemis is fine, I talked to him about two this morning, which is why I missed Usagi this morning."

A brunette coming towards them laughed "Well that beats all, Luna sleeps in."

"Funny Mako." said the cat dryly.

Luna climbed onto Minako's shoulder, sensing the girl was upset about Artemis being absent. Also being on a shoulder, could make the casual passer-by who overheard less likely to believe the cat spoke.

Straightening herself up and bunting Mina softly, Luna continued. "Both Mamoru and Artemis have gone off to do some training for a couple of days."

"What?" Usagi asked, her heart in her eyes.

"Special training, Usagi. He said he would call you. He has decided upon something himself which you will have to respect."

Makoto, Minako and Rei accepted this at face value, Minako however, was a little upset that Artemis would be gone.

Usagi however sat there quietly her mind ticking over. Her jaw tightened and she looked at her guardian and advisor. "Is this regarding what I think it is regarding?"

"No, Usagi. Apparently he mentioned it and something along those lines to Artemis but, if he was being silly like that, I believe Artemis would have stopped him."

"Um," Makoto piped up, "why do I get the impression I am missing something here?"

Usagi looked at them and sighed. She hadn't told them in case they did something to him that was unhealthy or permanent. They had threatened it on occasion after all.

"Why don't I tell you later, it a long story and I don't feel like telling it now."

"Okay," said Minako, having some idea as to what it was about. She remembered Artemis being a little weird some months ago and the look on Luna's face backed that up.

"Shall we have lunch then?" asked Makoto.

Usagi's eyes opened wide and a grin leapt onto her face again.

Rei muttered "Pavlovian" under her breath.

Usagi squealed "Pavlova, I love pavlova!"

Rei sighed and put her head in her hands. Luna tried, but fell off Minako's shoulder.

-------

Jack walked into the apartment, large bags under his arms and in his fists. He wobbled towards the living room where he dropped the bags and then sat down.

Setsuna looked up from her magazine and cup of tea. "Afternoon."

Jack just waved.

"Problem?"

"Yeah actually," he replied, "how come there are heaps of people shopping right, and there are guys and girls. I watched while I did mine and the guys just grab the stuff and move on, while the woman stop and start, read the packs and go backwards and forwards?"

"That, my dear boy, had bothered me for centuries but I believe I have the answer."

"And that would be?"

"Genetics," said Setsuna trying to hide her smile.

"Droll. Very droll. Where's Sleeping Beauty?"

"In the shower. What did you buy?"

"Food mainly. I am really hungry. My residual memory tells me the body was never this hungry before. That and some books, stuff to do. Also I picked up some clothes."

"Your fashion sense is atrocious, it always has been. And combined with the soul of a twentieth century teenager, well," Setsuna said.

"Nice. Yeah I know, we agreed you would buy me clothes." Then almost in a whisper, "Lord knows you need things to occupy your time."

Setsuna looked sidelong at Jack, who had the decency to blush.

"No," he continued, "just some gear for my uniform, so to speak."

Before Setsuna could comment, Ami entered the room.

"Hey Ami." Jack said.

Ami was still having trouble with the informality, even though she knew now that it came from over a thousand years of knowing each other. The kicker was the thousand years plus hadn't happened for her yet. She pushed it aside. Into the middle hours of the morning they had talked, information being passed to Ami, details of his existence and his travelling back. However, the details behind the tale, such as Jack's identity and the happenstance that resulted in his being sent here, were left out. All Ami knew was that he was from Crystal Tokyo and was semi-immortal like them. Other than that she needn't know otherwise and seen it hadn't happened, it was easier to hide the truth from the usually perceptive girl.

"Good afternoon, Jack." And with that Ami looked at Setsuna. "Could I have it back now please?"

"Certainly Ms Mizuno," replied Setsuna, handing the computer to Ami.

Ami picked up a cup from the service on the table in front of her and poured a cup of tea.

"Last night, after hearing your story, Setsuna and I discussed what you had said and talked about it." Jack exchanged a look with Setsuna, which Ami caught. "And no, she did not reveal anything that could corrupt the time line, or more importantly, your existence in the future." That didn't even need to be said, Setsuna guarded it more fastidiously than Jack ever could, "However I did run some tests while we talked last night and Setsuna convinced me to wait until now to look at them and talk about them."

"Look away," said Jack. This would be fun, although it was slightly embarrassing to know his body had been under scrutiny on a microscopic level. This discussion would probably take a while.

-------

On a road further north, the two driving companions were chatting idly. Admittedly, at least now, Mamoru was one of the first to confess that before Usagi, he was a cold man. After that, less so, but he still failed to let people in, afraid of the hurt he believed always followed. With her help, he had opened up, becoming more of a friend to the Senshi, rather than the mysterious and suspicious outsider that swung in to help, then swung off again.

Due to the fact that he and Artemis where the primary male contingent of the Sailor Senshi, they had began to spend time together and had become very good friends. When the girls had informed their partners of their dual identities, Mamoru had been a figure for them to look to, his having dealt with it for a longer period of time. Despite the fact most of them had suspicions or knew as such from hunches, they did have questions and queries that they had been unwilling to ask their respective others. They were great guys but could not understand the danger to the extent that Artemis could, being on the inside. Motoki had figured it out himself some time back and he was the outside viewpoint and objective Mamoru could rely on.

Mamoru could sometimes feel a void when he saw Usagi and her Court. He felt like something was missing. It was in that, his men, his Generals were not part of this wonderful thing that would save humanity and the world. That saddened him, he could now recall them as they were in the past, and not just as they had been, loyal, stalwart friends and allies. Artemis could understand this, his having lost friends over the years himself, and also being one of the most capable minds Mamoru had ever encountered.

That was why Mamoru had approached Artemis those months back and again, now. This time, he would take the steps necessary, no mucking about with doubts. What he went towards was for her, their daughter and the world. Not his own ego or doubts.

Artemis also considered Mamoru a good friend. Admittedly the initial shock of discovering it was Endymion was huge. He vaguely held memories of he and Endymion speaking for hours into the night discussing battles, how they were fought and how they should have been fought. Then the war had begun. He remembered using the scrying crystals and advising Endymion on occasion.

But over time and sleep these memories were but echoes.

The time they spent together now however was like these dreams being acted out. Mamoru had made some reference to Marathon some weeks ago and he and Artemis had argued about it. Setsuna had walked in and commented something along the lines of, "Not this again," and proceeded to tell them what really happened.

Both snapped out of their subliminal travelling and looked at each other. Mamoru looked back to the road, but the cat continued to study his friend.

He felt an obligation. He had promised Serenity, that fateful day, to look after both Usagi and Mamoru. Sadly Mamoru slipped the net due to his head injury when his parents were killed.

No, it was lost time. Luna had instructed Usagi and the Senshi, he had trained Venus. Now he would train his future liege-lord and King.

It was a formidable task.

Mamoru spoke, shattering the silence. "Don't worry buddy, it'll be fine."

Artemis could only hope.

-------

Ami sat looking at the computer screen, the data scrolling past at a rate that seemed to be just a blur. She had been seated there for the last thirty minutes collating the data and analysing him.

She coughed and placed the computer onto the tabletop beside her teacup.

"As far as I can tell from readings, you have two separate genetic codes overlapping each other. To get a reading on those will take a bit longer. However apart from the after effects and fatigue of the coma, your body appears to be perfectly healthy apart from the fact that its mass seems to be increasing by several grams per hour."

Naydar nodded. That confirmed his suspicion about his soul taking over. That and he hadn't really stopped eating since he got to Tokyo.

"Another variable confounding the genetic reading is that the body appears to have been tampered with. According to my reading and the files I was able to 'acquire' from the hospital, you were struck by lightning, which was what put the body into the coma."

"Which could possibly explain how this human body can control and handle my powers?"

"Well, it seems that the overload of electricity has affected you on a metabolic level. My guess would be after the spell was cast by Setsuna, your soul automatically found the closest body that would suit."

"Then why did I pass out after that fight?"

"The body couldn't handle the power outage in its weakened state. Also your possession, as you call it, wasn't as advanced as it is now. It may also be that genetically the match is too different for you to maintain the level of activity you were once able to."

"So I'm more or less fine now."

"At a quick glance, yes, but I would recommend waiting until the 'possession' is complete and your body is fully rested. But due to your advanced metabolism that shouldn't be more than a couple of days."

Setsuna, who had been silent until then spoke. "So this conflict within the DNA could be a physical manifestation of the possession. In short, his real self taking over the old self."

Ami grimaced at the word 'possession'. That made it sound like Rei's field of expertise rather than hers. "The only way to check would be to have Rei take a look at him."

"I do have a question though," said Jack.

"Yes?" asked Ami.

"How much of my power will this body be able to access. I may need it."

Ami looked confused at this but pushed the feeling aside. She was aware that she was being privy to some information but not all. She respected the decision made by Setsuna. Time was her concern.

"Without mapping your limits I could not say. Also considering that while I know you are from Crystal Tokyo, I have no idea how the populace became semi-immortal and gained Senshi-like potential. Without knowing that, I would only be guessing."

Jack was thinking. To fully see if this body could handle what he feared was coming he would need Ami to take readings on him transformed. But then she would have a piece of information that could cause trouble. Her suspicions already looked to be heading that way, and bringing the more prominent entity to the fore, along with its gene's would almost surely solidify her theory. A pained look crossed his face and he cast a glance in Setsuna's direction. She looked at him for some time, then she glumly nodded.

Jack sighed as Ami looked on, exchanging a puzzled look with both Jack and Setsuna. He placed his left fist into his right palm and a magnetic wave took his body in its clutches. His skin was heightened and prickled as the static caressed his body and left him refreshed and aware, his senses flying on a new level of perception. The cloud dissolved and left him standing before the two women.

Ami's hair was standing somewhat askew, the static obviously having played with it.

Setsuna nodded and stood up. "That felt more like it."

Ami stood up, her hands flashing over the keys. "That felt like it does when another Senshi transforms, yet different somehow." She would play the card that she already knew that later, at present it allowed her to drive the conversation where she needed it to go. She suspected that normal humans didn't again immortality and powers such as this man claimed to have.

The computer beeped at her. Reading quickly it reinforced her theory. Under the laws of evolution, humanity could not reach what was suggested in such a short period of time and even environmental factors, human interference and the Imperium Silver Crystal could not create such a scale of change without degradation at some point.

Ami looked at Jack. "What power can you manipulate? Due to the transformation obviously some sort of electricity."

Jack knew the look in Ami's eyes, as did Setsuna, she was up to something and had found out more than she was willing to let on. The situation was delicate now, like a hand of poker for extremely high stakes. "Gravity actually, and through that some control of my surroundings." Jack replied slowly, his eyes following both Setsuna's and Ami's movements and expressions.

"Could you possibly demonstrate, so I can get a reading?"

Jack looked at Setsuna, who picked up an empty cup. This was it. This would make and break it. Ami would get the real answer now, but as Setsuna and Jack had no idea how to work the modified mini computer, the future was about to be risked yet again. Setsuna stood and crossed the room to place the cup on the mantle. Jack stood quietly, his face displaying a look of extreme concentration, tempered by a deep sadness.

Slowly and like it was jumping the cup leapt off the mantle into the air. Slowly like it was skipping in the emptiness it made it's way towards the hand that Jack held out to greet it. It landed in his palm, did a happy seeming jump and stopped.

Ami's eyebrows were threatening to disappear into her hair.

Jack placed the cup down on the table and fell to his knees.

Setsuna stepped quickly to his side and knelt beside him. "Jack, are you alright?" Her question, albeit unnecessary was answered as his uniform dissolved in a cloud of ions.

"Justh, hardh, toh, doh." he puffed. Now he was scared. That had been more trying then his fight against the two youma, and it was simply manipulating the gravity on a small object to be drawn to him rather than the planet itself.

Setsuna looked at Ami, concern in her eyes.

"Readings indicate that the body may take some time to be able to process the powers fully. That said, it is better to wait for his full recovery and 'possession' as you term it"

Jack wondered how she could put apostrophes around that word when she spoke it. He then passed out.

Setsuna looked down at him, his head lolling. She placed him down on the floor, using her hands on his shoulders to lever him flat. Then, a purple tornado surrounding her body with its temporal wind, Sailor Pluto rose from her knees to stand beside him. Crouching down, she levered the body over her shoulder, straightened up, walked to the hall and disappeared into the bedroom.

Some minutes later, Setsuna returned, back in the clothes she had been wearing earlier.

"His life signs dropped quite markedly after he transformed." Ami remarked.

"I noticed. The transformation speeds the possession but using his powers weakens the body."

"I am so sorry, that I didn't think of that before asking him to power up."

"Don't worry Ami, he doesn't hold it against you." How could he, Setsuna thought, you were the one who pulled him from his mother's womb.

The computer beeped again, seemingly more insistent this time.

Ami looked at it and then back to Setsuna, "I would suggest Rei taking a look at him."

"I had already decided that. Now however I think it may be better for him to wait some."

"Quite," replied Ami, feeling some remorse for the young man fainting.

The computer beeped again, wanting attention.

"What!" Ami snapped at it, not knowing it to have ever done anything this tamagotchi-ish before.

She picked it up and hit several keys waiting for whatever it was to register.

Setsuna looked on. Suddenly Ami's eyes bugged open and her jaw dropped. "I don't believe it," she muttered, sinking into the couch behind her. She then began to type away furiously.

Setsuna remained standing. She had a fairly good idea of what was coming, she had seen it coming as soon as the blue haired Senshi had mentioned Crystal Tokyo again, the hunch had most likely been there since she had received the reading last night, causing her to page Setsuna.

"No, no, no," Ami continued, the keys clacking under her fingers.

Ami then stood her Sailor Mercury seifuku appearing in a fog of bubbles and arctic blue ribbons. A quick touch to her earring initialized the visor, which slid over her eyes and upper face like a liquid. She quickly headed towards Jack's room, muttering to herself.

Setsuna bent towards the carafe and poured a cup of sweet black coffee.

Ami returned, her uniform dissolving in an icy mist. She sat again and tapped some more keys.

"Anything the matter, Ami-chan?" Setsuna managed to force down the urge to say 'something vexes thee' instead and handed the coffee to Ami.

She took it and downed it in a swift gulp.

"It's not possible..."

"What?"

"I reran the test myself, even after that beeping which meant the computer had reran them too! I even scanned him with the visor! That can't have been the overlap!"

"Yes," Setsuna prodded, knowing exactly were this was going.

"But he has..."

"Yes."

"But that means..."

"Yes. Your deductions and your computer are correct."

"But how did, that would mean, he's the, he is..."

"Yes."

"Oh." It couldn't really be that simple could it. Simple and mind-blowingly amazing at the same time.

"Yes Ami," said Setsuna calmly.

"That's right," Jack's voice came from the hall as he stepped into the living room, using the doorframe for support.

"I'm not a normal human. Crystal Tokyo's inhabitants aren't nearly as long lived as I am, and they don't all have superpowers. Only a few like me, us, do. I am of the Senshi. My parents are the Avatar's Uranus and Neptune; Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru."

Ami looked at Jack, then at Setsuna, who nodded.

Ami coughed and said, "Setsuna, I know its early, but do you have anything a wee bit stronger than just coffee?"

**Chapter Nine**

**UNVEILING**

_"Some day I will find, a love that flows through me like this_

_This will fall away, this will fall away_

_You're getting closer, to pushing me off of life's little edge_

_Cause I'm a loser and sooner or later, you know I'll be dead"_

_Three Doors Down - "Loser" - The Better Life_

-------

Azel sat quietly in his throne room, the dank stench of youma clinging to the air like the spores of a fungus.

The room was empty, his having sent the minions and servants away. He sat thinking. Probably the best and worst side effect of the crossbreeding of human, nega-human and youma. A high level sentience, above the level of self-preservation that included heightened self-awareness and consciousness.

Originally youma had been diverse, multitudinous. Creatures of nightmare, destruction; the things that, quite literally; went bump in the night. Then she had arrived, falling through that gate. And with an iron will, she who would become the entity know as Metallia had shaped the Negaverse into a cohesive whole, a kingdom. A Dark Kingdom. She crushed the opposing youma and the nega humans under her boot heel. Over time, she pushed her powers, drawing creatures to her from other realms, reaching through the walls of existence and playing people like puppets.

One such was Beryl.

This one had drive and passion. Burning red passion of hate and betrayal, misguided as it was. Over time, the line between where Beryl ended and Metallia began blurred. Then the move was made that would ultimately seal the fates of both.

Beryl had lusted after Endymion, heir to the throne of Earth. Unable to take him from his beloved Moon Princess, she subverted his generals and loyal followers by guile and mind control.

And waiting for an opportune time, she struck, destroying the light.

And the light had flared.

This flare had sealed the power that was Metallia and seriously weakened Beryl, making her unable to create the gate portals she used to traverse the realms. Under the direction of her generals and the humans that were her loyal servants, a new order was established once more. Distrustful of the youma, driven by their baser instincts, Beryl began a period of change. Youma, nega human and human hybrids, created by unholy union and fell magic began to roam the halls of the Dark Kingdom.

From these creatures and the remaining original inhabitants left alive in the Negaverse, a new genetic strain, more powerful was created.

He was one such creature, human mother with a youma / nega-human father.

And then, out from Beryl's gaze and assumedly as mini-courts to govern in an expanding realm, the floating moons became a power to be reckoned with, some individuals rumouredly, on par with the might of Metallia.

He resented this fact, had for decades if not centuries. Due to his rage, his unpredictable genetic variables he had been left out of areas he was better suited to them, the 'Generals'.

He spat. The black saliva smoked slightly on the rock floor.

He hadn't ventured out of the Dark Kingdom for centuries. He had been pushed to the background in the recruitment drive Beryl held, his skills and power left in the proverbial closet in favour of those pathetic human 'Generals'.

And from the culling of the inferior gene stocks life essences, and the technology that existed from the original explorations of the nega-humans, Beryl was able to capture slaves and extend the breeding stock.

Then through accident and mishap, it was discovered that the effect of the Silver Crystal had waned and the push to reclaim the lush fertile homeland of their Queen, the Earth, was initiated.

Yet again though, Beryl trusted her human servitors, those generals.

First came the pawn of Kunzite, Danburite. Once a human soldier in Endymion's ranks, he had sold his soul to Beryl for his unrequited love of a woman. With his remaining humanity he was destroyed, ironically by the reincarnation of his affections. This failed 'scouting' expedition caused Beryl to put her major players into the field, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoicite and Kunzite.

They were all dead or worse. With that thought, Azel glanced to a far wall.

The throne or Beryl lay twisted, half embedded in the far wall, a sculpture, monumental to her folly.

Then she, the mighty Beryl-Metallia hybrid was destroyed. Which worked well for Azel. Having bid his time for decades in the dark, gathering forces, the only real opposition to his seizing power was the Black Moon Family.

Seemingly like a dark god was glancing down and wishing him luck, the massive backlash of raw mystic energy from the destruction of Beryl not only killed millions of youma, it also created a rift in the space time continuum which pulled the main Black Moon Family satellite with it. Needless to note, almost half this universe was destroyed also. Still, his trophy was a lucky find, the concentrated darkness it had enthroned for eons, making even the purity of the dreaded Silver Imperium Crystal hard pressed to eradicate it from memory.

The disappearance of the Black Moon left a blank patch in the sky. Sky that to Azel, was far too crowded anyway.

He had found where they had gone. Thrown through the dimensional wall, the moon had ended up, in all places, just outside the scope of the Solar System, which the original Serenity ruled. The dark bulk of Nemesis lurked beyond the outer limits, a darker patch in the dark night of Pluto's skies.

Azel shook his head. These tumultuous thoughts misguided and random as they were, would be the death of him. Now was a time for action, of solidifying his place and gaining the favour that was his by right.

He pushed his skeletal white hand through his greasy black hair. Wiping the stains on his filthy white uniform, he grinned again, his yellowing teeth almost glowing with his ill intent.

A few more jumps to Earth and he would have enough power to confront them directly.

Excellent.

A dry laugh, like the rustling of autumn leaves, echoed through the caverns.

-------

Mamoru lay on the large king size bed in the ryokan, his soft breathing indicating he was asleep.

Artemis sat by the window looking out at the early afternoon scene. They had hurried to get here, Mamoru tired from the nightlong drive and Artemis concerned and trying to rationalize out a training schedule for the Prince.

It wasn't easy. Physical training was a definite; although Mamoru was in peak shape from the sporadic fitness regime the Senshi had been undertaking since Galaxia. While there was an absence of a threat, preparation was made 'just in case'. They just didn't think the just in case would become a definite as opposed to its theoretical status. Added to their already enhanced bodies, this training put them beyond an Olympian level of fitness.

Artemis sighed. He hadn't slept well, his worry a cold ball in his stomach. The meditative aspect was a concern. While Mamoru was occasionally able to perform his Smoking Bomb technique, mainly defensive as it was; his control and its area of affect was minimal. He was an accomplished swordsman, better than Haruka, yet many enemies they encountered preferred to attack long range.

Artemis hoped that by bringing Mamoru into the natural environment of the preserve, he could get him in touch with his innate abilities and have them manifest themselves. His potential was high; Artemis could sense it bubbling below the surface. Whether it was the close proximity to his aligned planet, being on it, or whether Mamoru was naturally this powerful would have to be seen. His choice to do this had opened the door; Mamoru just needed to step through it.

Which raised the question of Endymion's weakness during the Silence. Was this due to the pain of his planet? Artemis had only witnessed this through recounts of the trips the Senshi had taken to the future but it seemed a distinct possibility.

Artemis shook his head and leapt through the partially open window. Maybe some of the locals could tell him where the strongest focal point of earth energy was in this area.

-------

Ami had left. After Setsuna had got her solemn vow of silence. Ami had not hesitated to give it. She, perhaps better than most of the Senshi, understood the ramifications that the revelation of Jack's parentage could create.

Naydar was asleep. Once he had returned to his room, Setsuna and Ami had retired to the balcony. Ami was concerned that his power reading had dropped dramatically low when it should have been getting steadily higher with each manifestation.

Ami's parting words hit Setsuna quite hard.

"It may be due to the fact that his host body isn't capable, even after the lightening strike, of utilizing his powers. In fact it is rightly conceivable that his powers could kill this body, drain it of its very life force."

It hit Setsuna harder still, when she recounted it in her mind after the Ice Senshi had left.

After leaving a note to Jack that she was off to buy him clothing, she sat quietly in a coffeehouse, sipping on the cappuccino before her.

He was sent back to help them in whatever was coming. His knowledge would be vital, but his temperament would not let him sit out the fighting. Not even if his life was at stake. He shared the warrior mentality with many other people she had encountered, not least of which was his mother. There was a reason it was called the greater good.

And somehow, for some reason, she had thrown him back to this time. His dying, again, would be much more guilt than she could possibly take.

-------

Makoto and Usagi sat quietly together in an out of the way booth at the Crown Arcade. While Usagi was going to relate to them all the fears she had about Mamoru's sudden departure and explain her cryptic remarks of earlier, only Makoto was left. Rei had been given a hurried message to go to the temple to do something or other, rather flushed; Minako had been borrowed temporarily by Luna, and Ami had gone home to discuss something about Helvetica with her mother. So Usagi and Makoto sat, their shakes somewhat untouched, as Usagi was obviously trying to figure out how to begin.

Makoto smiled at her friend. Whatever had happened had obviously hit her harder than she had let on, possibly even to Mamoru.

"Usagi, if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have too."

"It's not that Mako, it's just that while I know he went away for a good reason, I can't help but worry."

"He's a big boy Usagi, he can handle himself. And anyway Artemis is with him. That though, does cause some concern."

Usagi smiled at this, knowing what Makoto was doing, but appreciating it anyway.

"You need to promise me something though Mako."

Makoto didn't like this. "What?"

"Don't beat him up." Makoto raised her eyebrows at this. She had threatened Mamoru with grievous physical injury about two or so years ago, during the whole Rubius - Black Moon Family thing. But then at that stage he had broken Usagi's heart, and supposedly his own. She wouldn't consider beating on him now, he was as much a part of her life as the Senshi were; family.

"Tell me Usagi," stated Makoto, now more intrigued than alarmed.

"About nine months ago, remember, he got really weird and all, avoiding me and when we were together he was kind of distant."

"I remember that, it was about then that Artemis and Luna finally decided to stop being covert about their feelings for one another." The girls were all aware that the two felines had feelings for each other, but like Rei and Yuuichirou, had hidden it behind bickering and argument.

"Yes and that's got part to do with Mamoru. He was talking to Artemis this one time about whether or not, he was worthy of me."

"Sounds a bit unlike Mamoru to me. I mean we knew something was up and we told you it was no evil energy, just doubt and confusion, but still we never did get the real deal, we thought we would leave it till you were ready to tell us."

"That's just it, Mako, he hides his feelings. He was, and is still in some ways; afraid he will be alone, so he bottles stuff up and tries to deal with it himself. He was scared the next time we had to fight, he would make some mistake or not be strong enough, and it would jeopardize someone else's safety."

"Yours."

Usagi nodded glumly at this. She slurped her milkshake and looked at Makoto, "Thank you for leaving it. I don't know how he would have reacted. He felt so bad, the only job he really had was protecting me and he didn't think he could do that. I'm afraid he may do something silly."

"Poor guy. And you thought maybe we would trounce him like we threatened to back when..."

Usagi nodded again, cutting Makoto off. She had come to terms with that whole part of her life, but it still hurt. She also thought that maybe more went on than see knew about. As much as the North Pole was for the Senshi, this was the unspeakable for her and Mamoru.

"Don't worry Usagi, he'll be fine," reassured Makoto.

-------

Minako looked at the lithe form on her shoulder as she strolled through the park. The wind had turned cold and the dark jacket Mina was wearing ruffled in a light breeze. Her long skirt and sneakers fit a comfortable cold day fashion sense, but Luna could sense little comfortable about the girl of late.

"What can I do for you Luna?" The blonde girl was confused why Luna had asked her out here. Artemis was away, sure enough, so maybe Luna wanted to talk about him. But then, Luna wasn't the type to indulge in frivolous conversation, especially not in times such as those that had erupted around them.

"Let's find a place to sit first," prompted the cat as Minako headed to a tree off by itself and away from the other people that milled lazily through the park.

Luna jumped from Minako's shoulder and waited as Minako straightened her skirt and sat under the tree. Luna sat in front of her, resting on her haunches.

She had considered tact, but Minako was smarter than she let on. Best she get right to it and save the pussy footing around. She shuddered mentally. How she hated that expression.

"I want to know why you are so down and I do not want any excuses."

Minako's face flushed with conflicting emotions; shock that she was discovered when she had though she was unnoticed; relief that maybe she could talk with appearing to be a ninny; anger that Luna thought that she would just tell her all her problems, spill her guts as it were, after a harsh word.

Luna saw all this and waited, the look on her face saying she was in no hurry.

Minako's mouth moved but no sound came out.

-------

"Yes, Professor, I understand the irregularity of my request, yet it is important that I am able to remain in Japan."

"Yes, Professor I have been continuing the extra curricular reading as you suggested, as well as assignment work for both the Institute there and university here."

"Yes sir, I will endeavour to return as soon as possible. Please give my regards to Doctor McTaggart."

Ami hung up the receiver, and sighed heavily.

"Tough day at the office?" questioned Urawa from the kitchen.

"Not so much now. The professor says that it shouldn't be a problem with my exceptional grades as long as I maintain the current standard and speed of work. He was reluctant, however."

"Oh course, his best and brightest fled. Did you give him a date of return?"

"No just that I had important things to do here that had suddenly come up."

"And he didn't question that?"

"No. But I'll have to ask Setsuna about that."

"Good luck."

Ami hugged Urawa and kissed his cheek, "He did send you his best."

"Well, that was nice of him," Urawa replied.

-------

Haruka and Michiru both sat quietly in the darkened room. Both wore their respective seifuku, their colours dull and flat in the so-called light.

Michiru sat, her talisman resting on her knees. Deep in concentration, all that existed was the soul mirror before her and the hand on her shoulder.

The hand on her shoulder belonged to her partner, Sailor Uranus. Haruka too, was concentrating, on the curved blade before her, the Space Sword. With effort, Haruka was using her will and the power of the Space Sword to feed Michiru and enable her to see further with the Deep Aqua Mirror.

Michiru gasped and the mirror hit the ground, whatever image that was shown, darkening as its power feed was disrupted.

"What?" questioned the blonde.

"Hotaru!"

-------

Hotaru wandered rather lazily through the Juuban shopping district. School was boring and the only other prospect of activity at present would most possibly involve the death of humanity.

Nice range of choices there.

She sighed and continued her stroll.

Hotaru stopped some time later, nothing much interrupting her meanderings, but the air pressure had taken a sudden drop, its temperature noticeably lower than it was. She looked up. The sun was still bright so it wasn't an errant cloud. Then she noticed that the noise level was muted, itself odd for a weekday afternoon.

Cold and quiet. And still. A stillness like a stifled breath.

Okay, this was officially creeping her out.

And then, her senses rang. Youma. Nearby.

Hotaru looked around. She was near a more run down area of the district. How she got here was anybody's guess; her wanderings must have digressed. She shrugged. Looking around she spotted a dark alleyway and ran towards it.

Lifting her hand to the sky she cried "Saturn Crystal Power!"

The fingernails on her outstretched hand sparkled a pinkish purple before her body, midstride, was engulfed in a luminescence of the same shade, rich golden rings and comets violently circling her now obscured form.

Reaching out with the hand formerly at her side, she grasped the shaft of a ghostly weapon, which, on contact with her flesh, solidified with a mind numbing finality.

The light flared and dissipated, showing the beautiful soldier, Sailor Saturn, armed with the Silence Glaive.

Quickly and with barely a sound the seifuku clad figure turned on her heel and disappeared down the alleyway corner, towards the creature she had sensed but seconds ago, glaive held loose, but ready at her side.

-------

Minako sat. Luna waited. Minako finally, the pain overwhelming her calm and cheerful exterior, broke like a damn, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"I am so lonely, Luna!" she wailed, her knees now against her chest, the sobs muffled against her knees.

"Oh dear," muttered Luna and placed her paw against Minako's leg.

-------

Rei had headed off to the temple when she had received the message. So someone wanted to see her. Big deal, any religious cases could be handled by Yuuichirou easily and if not him, Grandfather.

However, the strange, haunted looking foreigner had asked for her in particular.

Rei mounted the top step of the Hikawa Shrine. Yuuichirou, awaiting her arrival waved at her, and walked towards her quickly. She moved to meet him.

"I am glad you're here, Rei. This young man appeared and asked to see you. When your Grandfather and I both offered to help, he said it was urgent he see you. Do you know him?"

"Not that I know of." Rei hadn't met any foreigners of late, besides the one on the street, and none that would know her by name and sight, let alone her home address. "Where is he?"

"One of the smaller prayer rooms, your Grandfather suggested he compose his thoughts before seeing you." The way that he had stressed the word - composed - suggested that the stranger had been overly insistent.

"And I suggest you also compose yourself, Granddaughter." The voice came from the short old man who hobbled towards them. His bald head gleamed in the muted light and his robes rustled as he moved slowly.

"Grandfather," Rei turned on the old man, "if your legs hurt you should be in bed!"

The old man took on a long-suffering look and smiled "I have too few days to spend them in my bed."

Rei threw her hands in the air and stormed off.

Yuuichirou looked down at the old man and said, "Really, she doesn't like it when you talk like that."

"I know, but truth is not necessarily a welcome visitor. Help me to my room's boy."

"Yes Master," replied Yuuichirou, the catch in his voice going unnoticed.

-------

Luna had finally managed to get some sense from Minako. While she had thought that this was serious, she didn't understand to the extent. Minako couldn't really hide anything from Luna in this state, whatever natural psychic barriers she had were down and Luna could feel the depression, doubt and self loathing the girl felt, overshadowed by feelings of loneliness, grief and worthlessness.

It shocked Luna deeply, that Minako, one of the stronger Senshi, could feel this bad about herself and somehow hide it from them all, and Usagi even, who had empathic ties to all her soldiers.

This was far too big for Luna alone to handle.

How could she call the others and yet keep Minako calm enough to remain where see was.

Minako was a rage of emotions; she hated her life, the way it was, everything. She felt angry, helpless and worthless at the same time. She knew it was irrational but couldn't help it.

Minako's sobs had lessened and Luna was bunting her soft head against Minako's wet cheeks (a hard task standing on two legs). Concentrating on both comforting the girl and getting her help, Luna reached out with her mind, a task she had not attempted since the Silver Millennium, at least not at such a range.

One word, over and over, a mantra, a summons.

Usagi.

-------

Usagi sat in front of her shake, the conversation turned from the rather depressing to the subject of clothes and food.

- Usagi -

"Luna?"

Usagi sat upright, her shoulders un-slumping and her milkshake nearly toppling its contents into her lap.

Usagi looked shocked and confused, Makoto no less so. Whatever comment she was about to make died when the blonde girl stood suddenly, and threw some coins, payment for the shakes, onto the table.

"Quickly, Mako!" The summons had seemed like a whisper in her mind, but the urgency was unmistakable.

-------

Rei stood before the partially opened screen door, her shrine robes cool and comforting. Who was this young man, a large but slim light auburn haired foreigner? He knelt in meditation like he had been exposed to Eastern philosophies and Shinto traditions all his life.

Well she wouldn't get answers this way, not standing and peering in through the screen, a spectre in her own home.

She slid the door open, startling the young man. He looked at her, the haunted look Yuuichirou had described melting into recognition and back, as quickly as he blinked.

"Can I help you, sir?" Rei barked. Forget this guy, worrying her Grandfather and causing her to leave Usagi when she seemed to be ready to tell them something possibly vital to their current circumstances.

The young man winced. There had been acid in that.

"You are Hino Rei correct."

"Yes, now what causes you to be here upsetting my ailing grandfather."

The man looked shocked at this, obviously her grandfather had hidden his infirmities.

"I am sorry, I was unaware of his condition," he was unfailingly polite.

"What do you want."

"I would like you to look at my soul, my essence and tell me what is wrong with it. I feel off balance, out of place and motion. Would you please help me."

Rei looked at the man, incredulous.

"What, you want me to do what! This isn't some backstreet witch doctor or kung fu magic shop. Obviously your brain has been poisoned from watching too many cheap second-grade Hong Kong ninja films!"

"Enough Mars." This voice was unexpected but recognized. Rei turned to see Setsuna, fully regaled in her Senshi uniform, staring down the young man.

He met her gaze and held it.

"Damnit, what are you doing!" Setsuna addressed the young man, which added to Mars' anger and her newly growing confusion.

"What do you think, Pluto, something is wrong. I can do one thing one day and kill two youma, and the next I can't even levitate a damn cup!" The young man seemed to struggle with this but pushed on, "I can feel myself getting weaker, and I can't remember why I'm here. Maybe she can find out. Before things get out of hand, more than they are already. And don't tell me they are under control, oh no, 'cos I can feel it bending."

Rei looked from one to the other.

Setsuna sighed and broke the staring match with her as yet unnamed partner.

Rei turned to Setsuna then back to the foreigner. She stepped towards him her robes billowing and her fists clenched. "How do you know who we are!"

Setsuna placed her hand on Rei shoulder, forestalling any bodily contact, like punches. Jack hadn't moved.

"My apologies Mars," he said, his voice low and hollow sounding, "I merely wished to gain your insight and assistance."

"This, " continued Setsuna, scowling at the man, "is Jack Argusson, for now at least, a friend of mine who has a problem and doesn't listen when I tell him something."

The kneeling figure raised his head at this and began to speak.

Setsuna scowled at him until he bowed his head again. She knew what he had meant. Things had happened, were happening, which could not be avoided. Best to leave well enough alone until they were discovered and the time was right. He had already told the priestess more than he should have.

-------

Usagi and Makoto could now see their destination, a sobbing girl curled in a ball on the ground, with the black cat bunting and trying to comfort her. Usagi had felt the call, drawing her, bringing her closer to her advisor, the emotion of the mental plea strong enough to draw her unhesitatingly.

Arriving, Usagi knelt down and placed her hand on Minako's shoulder. The tear stained face and broken white features looked up into her eyes and started crying a new stream of tears. Usagi simply embraced her. Mina had such pain in her eyes it was all Usagi could do in the face of it.

Luna walked over to Makoto, who held out her arms to receive the cat. Luna's fur was wet from Minako's tears and her own.

-------

Saturn turned a corner, her boots making soft clacking noises against the paving.

There, here, now.

Two bodies, slumped against the walls of this alleyway amidst a maze of alleyways. They were propped against the walls, seemingly in a grim parody of some sort. No life force emanated from their husks. And husks they were, skin taunt, almost like the ancient mummies of Egypt, under the baking sands for millennia.

But these were fresh.

The one who had done this stood between the two lifeless shells, his open hands outstretched to their forehead and chest respectively, the last trickles of life essence disappearing.

The figure was gaunt and white, greasy black hair matching the brush coal grey of its dress uniform. A uniform all too familiar from the tales Saturn had heard of the Dark Kingdom.

The figure raised its head towards her and Saturn couldn't help but step back. The red irises of the figure seemed to glow with hellfire, pierced by the milky white pupils. The figure grinned, its yellow teeth dripping black saliva onto the stones, where it hissed and steamed.

Saturn took a step forward and the figure moved one hand to point directly at her.

She began to run at it readying the Glaive at her side, dangerous yes, but her body simply acted, a driving force compelling her to destroy the monstrosity.

The figure chuckled, a midnight black ball of energy appearing in front of it, directly on the point of its now outstretched index finger.

Saturn continued her charge, mindless.

"You will see me again," the figure hissed, its voice spine chilling.

Saturn neared her target; the Glaive raised, when the words broke through the spell of bloodlust.

Simultaneously the black ball flared and the figure disappeared.

Caught by the black force, directly in the stomach, Saturn flew backwards, crashing heavily into the brick wall of the alleyway some twenty metres behind her.

The glaive fell to the sticky cobbles in silence.

-------

**DISCLAIMERS**

Chapter Seven

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Go To Sleep by Mark Piovanetti is copyright BMI. Batman created by Bob Kane and is copyright DC Comics, Warner Bros. Scooby Doo created and copyright William Hanna and Joseph Barbara. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Release From Guilt

Finished 15th April 2001. Re-edited 19th June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. With You by Linkin Park from the album Hybrid Theory is copyright WEA International and Warner Records Incorporated. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Eight

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Torn by Creed from the album My Own Prison is copyright Wind Up Entertainment, Epic Records and Sony Music. Buffy The Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon and copyright Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros. Keiichi Morisato from Oh My Goddess is copyright. Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin is copyright. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Nine

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Loser by Three Doors Down from the album The Better Life is copyright Republic Records and Universal Records. Moira McTaggart and Henry McCoy copyright Marvel Comics and Toy Biz. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.


	4. Part 02B

**EVEN FLOW**

R E V E R S I O N E D

A BISHOJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON Fan Fiction

By Nicholas Clark (Warriorsong)

_Comprising the original fan fictions Even Flow Chapter 10 - Interlude Minako, Chapter 11 - Interlude Mamoru, Chapter 12 - Soul Fire Burning, and Chapter 13 - Interlude Ami_

**2B. CHOICES, PROMISES, LIES**

**Chapter Ten**

**INTERLUDE MINAKO**

_"Drowning deep in my sea of lonely, broken your servant I am_

_It seems what's left of my human side is slowly changing, in me_

_Looking at my old reflection when suddenly it changes, _

_There is no turning back now, you've woken the demon in me"_

_Disturbed - "Down With The Sickness" - The Sickness_

-------

I can see everything. I know that everything is happening outside me. But it just doesn't mean anything. Its kind of like one of those old black and white televisions, yet with colour and with the sound all funny, mumbled and blurry. It is all just extraneous to what I need to know and feel. Its warm here and nothing can hurt me. It's like being on the verge of waking. But not quite; everything here is a not quite in some way.

-------

Usagi couldn't bear to see her like this. Minako had always been a figure larger than life. From when she idolized her as Sailor V to when they became comrades as Sailor Senshi, and to when they became friends, sisters even, as just Minako and Usagi.

Whatever was happening in Minako's head stayed there. She had, after her breaking down two days ago in the park, receded into herself and become almost like a doll, beautiful and still.

It hurt Usagi. She should have seen this coming. She was her friend. She should have sensed this pain in Minako and helped to make it better.

That was past. What hurt now was that Usagi had no idea of how to help.

So, she sat with her, brushing her hair, talking and singing to her.

Minako's face stayed passive, her eyes blinking as rhythmically as the ticking of the clock on her nightstand, her body unmoving in her chair by the bed.

-------

She is here. My friend. She is this bright light in my eyes. I want to say hello, acknowledge I know she is here, but it doesn't mean anything. The sounds she makes, they make me feel nice.

-------

Setsuna was not happy. Things had not gone well. With the events of the past two days catching up to her like the first thunderheads of a torrential storm she fought down panic and fear.

The warning they had been sent had disappeared, secluding himself somewhere in the city. Shielding himself from her. Then Hotaru had been found, battered and beaten in an alleyway in one of the less reputable parts of town. Thankfully it was Haruka who had found her, tracing the signal from her communicator. Upon awaking, Hotaru had been in a rage. Only Setsuna nudging the child's mind to sleep had forestalled further disaster.

Then she had slept naturally. Her phenomenal powers healing her body while she was asleep, just as she could heal others.

And now this. Minako falling ill. Although, Setsuna believed the term ill, to be rather hollow. It was catatonia, plain and simple. Something, creeping and unnoticed by her friends had swallowed whatever part existed in the outside world, drawing it into a shell of melancholy.

No, Setsuna was definitely not happy.

-------

I feel warm. I don't know why I am here, or how I got here. The past is like a toy town with a blanket thrown over it. A blanket of mist. Sometimes I can see in the mist, but it scares me, so I don't. Why are the people in my eyes sad?

-------

Ami was devastated. All her training, schooling and studies had never prepared her for the fact that maybe, one day, it would be one of her closest friends in such a situation.

Nothing had prepared her for it. Yet she continued and carried on as she had always done.

Her palm-top computer beeped at her, its diagnostics complete. Whatever this piece of genius had done, Minako sat unfazed. Ami now had readouts of neuro-kinetic feedback, a cat scan and in general, a complete picture of what was happening in Minako's head, albeit in the form of numbers and equations.

Now to work out what it meant. In the quiet, away from Usagi's rhythmic humming and the empty stare of the doll she had once called her friend. In the quiet where she could cry if she had too and not feel guilty.

-------

The red one is here now. She is warm. She is angry too, although I don't know why. She is comforting; I think it is, but I can't really tell - so it doesn't bother me - the bright one. They seem to overlap, white and red. It is pretty. The red one is trying to make me pay attention to her, but I don't want too and it is too foggy in here. Fog like a warm shroud. Like a cocoon.

The red one must have gone away while I slept but now the blue one is here. I know I like her, but don't know how. She and the bright one talk and the bright one goes away. This makes me sad. Then I can't remember what sad is so it doesn't matter anymore. The blue one is talking to me. It is like a fresh breeze, chill yet refreshing. I might sleep some more.

-------

Rei had been to see Minako. It had angered her more than anything. Why had she not sensed it? What good was she and all her abilities if they failed to help those she loved.

So now, after barely acknowledging Ami and returning to the shrine, she sat before the Great Fire. Its imposing warmth was added to by the comforting presence of Yuuichirou and her Grandfather off to the side. They were concerned for her, Minako and their friends. This had been a hardship, unexpected.

The Great Fire loomed over Rei like a towering elemental, swaying in an unfelt breeze, the crackling of the coals a whisper, whispering the secrets of the universe.

But not knowing what to hear for, to listen too, the secrets fell on deaf ears.

-------

Zinging. It sounds and feels like the word. Orange is glowing over my eyes like a veil. My hair. I can she the bright one through the orange. The bright one is brushing my hair. My hair is a glowing thing like these visitors. This is something, something elusive... something that just is.

I can't remember who the bright one is. I love her, I do know that. I don't know why. She is warm like it is inside here.

-------

Michiru sat quietly, watching over the slumbering form of Hotaru. When Haruka had found her, the girl had been beaten soundly, ribs broken and her shoulder bent at an odd angle. Her body had been slumped below a depression in a solid brick wall. A cratered depression radiating out from a shape like the child she watched over.

Whatever had attacked her had been powerful and most assuredly could, without doubt, have killed her.

Therefore, in Michiru's mind, it was playing. But what was its game?

A shimmering, a visual hum and she was Sailor Neptune. Concentrating, the Deep Aqua Mirror appeared in her hands, its frame chill. Michiru brushed her fingers along the gilded frame, it warming to her familiar touch.

-------

Luna was agitated. She and Makoto had tried and tried to contact Artemis and Mamoru. No luck. The ryokan had not seen them since the afternoon of Minako's collapse and Mamoru was not answering the communicator that Ami had placed into his watch.

Makoto leaned against the bench top of her kitchen, a toothpick between her clenched teeth, it moving up and down as she played one end with her tongue. A habit she had picked up from Ken, no doubt.

Luna stood by the balcony window. This was beyond what she could deal with. She felt nothing but ineffectual and useless.

Makoto slammed her fist down on the bench top, frustration clearly written across her face. Pots rattled to a stand still as she stormed out the main door of her apartment.

Luna turned back to the window and the insubstantial reflection it gave of her. It clearly showed the tear she felt crawling down her cheek.

"Where are you Artemis?" she mumbled. Her humid breath fogged the glass, blocking out the outside world.

-------

Haruka changed gears and her yellow roadster surged ahead, passing the few cars that seemed to have bunched together on this deserted stretch of highway.

She was very very annoyed. At everything, the world, herself and her friends. They had tasted normal life to have it ripped from them by whatever crisis loomed on the horizon like a black sun. Minako was officially out for the count, Hotaru was incapacitated for at least a few more days, Usagi and the Inner's were all a mess and the King had disappeared with Artemis.

So, heading north she was trying to at least rectify one of the above. Find the king and the cat, and then return him, thus giving strength to Usagi, which would put some starch back into the Inner's.

The car beneath her surged and ate the miles up with a ferocity that matched that of its driver.

-------

As far as she could tell, it had been about five days or so since she had been thrown against that wall like a rag doll. It did not make her happy. Her shoulder was still tight, and her side ached slightly. Kicking and punching like a woman possessed, Hotaru worked her anger out on the large punching bag suspended from the ceiling of the gymnasium at the Outer's Mansion.

Haruka had returned that morning, early, before the sun. She must be angry. She had locked herself in her bedroom, apart from the one she shared with Michiru, and not come out since. Michiru was alone too, looking into the soul mirror on the terrace as she had for the last couple of days.

Hotaru knew it was dangerous, this anger boiling beneath the surface but she needed to vent it now or it would build. Aggravating her wounds and slowing her recovery was preferable to blowing a hole in the side of the world.

But, in the forefront of her mind was shame and feelings of inadequacy. She had walked right into the attack, she should have been prepared, seen it coming, struck first, something.

She was now positive she was unworthy of this mantle she bore, and thus, she punished herself by punishing this bag and her battered body, ruminating over the thoughts like chewing glass in her mouth.

-------

I don't know this one in my eyes. It's a he, I can tell, although I do not know how. He is a dark blue with a silver sheen. The colours are pretty and swirl a little bit.

He doesn't say anything, which is strange, he just looks at me through his eyes as I look at him through mine. He is studying me. It makes me feel strange, uncomfortable, yet warm as well. Why is he here, I don't know him, or at least I don't think I do. The fog is getting thicker.

He is looking at me still. I hear him say something; it's like a bubbling noise, a chuckle. Is he laughing at me? No he is helping me; I can feel it coming from him. He is laughing at something else.

He is leaving. I want to ask him to wait but he can't hear me. What does it matter anyway. I am warm here.

-------

Setsuna hung the telephone back on its receiver. She had just received a message from one of the building manager's that looked after one of the myriad of apartment complexes where she had safe house's located. This particular man managed the building that contained a very specific safehouse. The same safehouse where she had closeted Naydar upon his arrival in Japan.

He was just like his mother, believing he could deal with everything himself, headstrong and often foolhardy.

The manager had called to say a letter had arrived. The extra she paid as a bonus ensured that any mail arriving would immediately be brought to her attention.

The fact that Jack himself had placed it in the manager's hand both worried her and pleased her. Obviously he was at work on something, his mind singular and direct, and he didn't feel he could concentrate with her over his shoulder at every turn. Over his shoulder preventing him from doing something dumb.

-------

I can see lots of colours in my eyes. There is the bright one, the red one, and the light blue one. There are others too, that have come and gone and come back again, a sea green, one that is like the leaves, a yellow and a purple. They are all here.

They are moving apart. There are more people here to see me. One that is like black, but not black and another smaller but bright, a swirl of gold and dark grey.

The black but not black one is saying something to the small one. The small one talks back. The gold in the grey one flashes, and the black yet not has a new colour, a deep red, like blood.

It looks pretty, but the blood is scary.

It feels strange in my head, like it is too small now, crowded, like I am not alone anymore. It feels nice, loving; having company I can feel and have it mean something. But it goes again.

The grey one and the not quite black one are speaking to one another. These words are important, for some reason, to them and me, but I cannot make them out, I feel, sad, I think the word is; that they aren't in here with me anymore.

The bright one is moving forward now, her light shining, almost blinding me. Almost, but it doesn't matter. She is reaching for me. There is something else shining. It is beautiful, a feeling solidified, like love, happiness or joy. The small greyish one is on her shoulder whispering in her ear and the not quite black one is standing off to the side. The others colours, the blue, the red, the greens, the yellow, the purple, crowd in closer. They care for me; I can feel it, like in waves, washing me clean of pain. I feel like I want to wake up, but can't. Why can't I wake up? Help!

The white flashes and I shield my eyes, a spot of crimson blinking the only colour in a snowy world that disappears like a dream.

-------

Usagi placed her hand on Minako's shoulder. Minako had slumped after the Crystal had flared and now lay limp in her chair.

Ami stood from her crouch beside Minako's left arm, a smile slowly creeping across her face.

"She's asleep."

The tension flew from the room like an expelled breath as sighs of relief and the frustration of the past few days dispersed. Ribbons of colour and clouds of rainbow hues dissipated as the Senshi reversed their transformations.

Michiru leaned into Haruka's side as they both relaxed, the blonde stiffened slightly, as if shocked, her arm slowly, almost reluctantly, wrapping itself around her comrades shoulders.

Rei brushed her hand through her hair; her tired face lit up by something inside, her nights of long vigil in front of the Great Fire having taken their toll on her body psychically, emotionally and spiritually.

Ami sat on the edge of Minako's bed, her fingers flying over the keys of her computer like a whispered breeze, collating and re-collating the data on Minako from before and during her illness, as well as her bio-signs currently.

Makoto slumped against the wall behind her, stress melting away. When Minako woke up she would be hungry. Maybe she should nip home and throw something together.

Hotaru sat cross-legged on the floor, her body still sore from the injuries she had sustained and the brutal training she had put herself through.

Usagi still knelt before Minako, her head resting in Minako's lap, slow tears running down her smooth cheeks. She was tired but happy. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Setsuna smiling down on her. She grinned back.

Setsuna turned and left the room. Now she only had the one obvious problem to deal with. Mamoru.

-------

Minako slept. Calm and content. And blissfully unaware of what had transpired.

**Chapter Eleven**

**INTERLUDE MAMORU**

_"Well I don't know if I'm ready_

_To be the man I have to be_

_I'll take a breath, take her by my side_

_We stand in awe, we've created life"_

_Creed - "With Arms Wide Open" - Human Clay_

-------

The wind blew across the field, the grass flattening itself against the ground. The man sat quietly, his legs folded, his hands on his knees. His eyes were closed and the flapping of this t-shirt against his chest and arms seemed not to disturb him. His mind was deep under, searching. Four shards of crystal lay before him.

The white cat that was near him lay in the sun, his eyes also closed. The sun warmed his fur and the wind cooled it, providing a counterbalance that left him comfortable and whimsical.

The yellow grass on this plateau was dry and crackled as the cat rolled over. It looked up to see the man staring at it.

"Having fun, Artemis?"

"Well, Mamoru I could ask you the same, considering you have been there for some two hours now."

Mamoru's eyes went distant.

"I was looking. You were right, out here, in the wild, away from the concrete, I can feel something, something deep and hidden."

"Your powers?"

"That's what I think," and with that the dark haired man closed his eyes again and slowed his breathing.

Artemis shrugged, stood and padded off into the grass, headed towards the woods.

The plateau they had found was high in the hills, yet not high enough to feel the deeper winter cold. While they had come prepared, they were city boys and not accustomed to roughing it. This was their second day on the land, so to speak. Mamoru had slept from their arrival at the ryokan to the next morning, whereupon they had set out, Artemis alternately conversing with the wildlife or riding on Mamoru's shoulders. They had came upon this field mid-afternoon and had made camp. A small two-man tent accommodated them both. This was the cat's destination. Having the tent in the shadows of the wood allowed shelter from the wind and wood for the fire.

Artemis was surprised about a few things. One was the fact that Mamoru still had the crystal shards. While the Senshi may have forgotten the shards, they could never forget their namesakes. Mamoru felt a bond to those crystals. He never said much, yet the cat believed that he felt some guilt over them. His old friends had been perverted and changed by the mad sorceress Beryl, yet he had survived and over time regained his memories. These shards were all he had left of his past apart from dull memories and sharp pain.

The second was that he took to meditation like it was second nature. They had all witnessed Rei before the Great Fire and had on occasions meditated themselves, yet Mamoru displayed a remarkable aptitude for it, his breath and heart rate slowing very quickly. What drove this, Artemis was unsure, was it his determination, the same determination that had brought them here, or a forgotten skill from the past.

Artemis entered the tent and lay down. It was mid-afternoon. If the past session was any indication, Mamoru would be busy for a while. Time for a catnap.

-------

Mamoru sat quietly. His buttocks were numb but he pushed the feeling aside. His knees were stiff and his feet were tingling, but he pushed that aside as well. He focused.

Into himself, down, pushing all aside until he was open and looking into himself, like into a window. It was foggy, dark, mist swirling around. Yet there shone a dull light, yellow, deep within the mist.

Outside himself, to the shards before him. Using them to ground and guide him. Relying on instinct and emotion rather than logic, he looked through the window.

Vaporous and insubstantial he melded with the mist and ventured towards the light.

-------

"Mr. Chiba?" the faint voice called.

It was dusk and the ryokan staff were cleaning the rooms. No answer and the door opened. The lanky figure stepped in, his glasses, big and round, reflected the illumination as he snapped on the light. His long hair limp against his face, as the teenager began to tidy the room, righting the coverlets on the bed, straightening the lamps and appliances, restocking the linen.

The boy stopped. Mr. Chiba had paid up for the week but had left for the hills with his cat early yesterday. On the bedside table sat a watch, thick black plastic with Velcro straps, with both analogue and digital readouts. As well as the standard buttons, two large buttons adorned both the top and bottom where the material strap joined the watch itself.

The boy knocked the watch off the bedside table.

"Opps," he said.

Slowly, methodically the boy raised his foot, placing one hand against the wall to steady himself and then lowered his head. The watch shattered as the boy's heel crashed into it, the cracking of floorboards underneath it sounding harsh and brutal in the otherwise silent room.

The figure still had its head lowered and slowly like an engine starting, a deep gravelly chuckle began to echo in the room. The figure raised its head, brushing the bangs out of its eyes. Red eyes. Evil eyes.

"Oh no," the figure said in mock concern, "whatever shall I do?"

-------

Artemis bolted upright. It was dark now; the night sounds of the forest were a haunting melody. Artemis shivered. It was cold and dark, but something 'else' had awoken him. Whatever the feeling was it had gone now. The cat poked his head out the tent flaps. No embers in the hearth.

Artemis was a cat, and cats sleep light. If Mamoru had returned he would have woken up.

Cursing under his breath, Artemis bounded out of the tent at a trot, headed towards a slightly darker shape in the gloom. The stars were hidden behind dark clouds, which scudded slowly across the sky. The moon sat low in the sky behind Artemis, obscured by the forest.

He stopped. Mamoru sat before him, pale and still. A fine dew had settled on his hair and shoulders. He was still in his trance.

Artemis sat on his hind legs, and tensed his muscles. No time to waste in calming himself, the cat bodily threw his psyche at the man before him, his crescent moon illuminating the area briefly like a swarm of fireflies.

-------

It was misty. Artemis stood and ran his hand threw his hair and close-cropped beard. He hadn't done the mental thing for a long time, and prayed he knew or remembered how. Chances were that Mamoru was lost in his own mind, like a self-imposed fugue and would need to be guided out. Trusting his feline judgement and common sense, Artemis took off at a sprint towards what he believed to be his friend's destination. A golden light.

-------

Mamoru was lost; the light seemed to be closer yet further away at the same time. The mist had revealed itself for what it was - memories, past events, thoughts, images, ideas and knowledge. It called to him and shunned him, beckoned and pushed him away.

Yet still he headed towards the light.

Closer it came, now a golden yellow, rich, like hokey pokey. And with that, a memory sideswiped him. He and Usagi, eating ice cream, a warm spring day in the park. Shaking it off and the pleasant warm feeling that came with it he continued on.

From behind the memory of a class he had taken some years ago, it came. The one memory he feared more than any other. His face reflected, a cruel sneer against a warm grin. That memory. That time when he had nearly lost his reason, his life, and his light. The compulsion was there too, to drown it out in amber, make it go away, the fear, the pain, in a drunken state of now and rapture.

A punch tight and fast, swung at the cruel apparition that openly mocked him with its cold eyes. The fist flew threw the jaw, dispersing it like thick smoke, a cold chuckle pervading the mist.

Mamoru was surprisingly calm. He looked down, his head bowed, taking breaths that were not breaths and composing himself. And below him, the ground was solid, yet he could see the crystals, a foot beneath, surrounding him. All four were rotating in a circle, like planetoids, satellites about him in the misty space he travelled.

Mamoru stood upright once more and pressed on, his destination once again his guiding light.

-------

Artemis was disconcerted. He wasn't tired, his astral form not bound by the physical, as he sprinted ahead. His mental defences were on high however; the figments and elements of Mamoru's mind leaping out at him as he aimed his run directly toward the light. To lower his defences would cause him to become lost and then eventually to cease to be as he become but a memory in his friend's mind.

Faster he ran, his discorporate legs pounding against the transparency that was this reality.

The light was brighter, shining, a beacon.

-------

Mamoru could see it closer now; he simply pushed through the memories like a rugby player. It was like the mist was refracting the light, his field of vision like gold weave, obscuring and thick looking, like cotton wool.

Yet it opened before him like a cloud, transparent and feathery.

His senses rocked. While the messages and memories assaulting him were subliminal, a ripple pounded into him, more real than anything in this shadow realm.

"Mamoru!"

The ground buckled and shook, his surreal footing lost.

"Mamoru!"

And sprawled in the nether, he could feel someone approaching. Someone he knew, someone not a memory. Risking his footing, he thrust his mind outward, calling.

"Artemis?"

Before him the cat appeared. Yet he was no cat. Artemis appeared before him, a luminescent man-shaped being, more felt and perceived than taken in through the eyes. He was well muscled, some six feet in height, close cropped hair and goatee beard, his hair as white as pure snow, eyes like the clearest blue spring water. Also he was naked. Glaringly obviously naked.

Mamoru was shocked, he felt normal here, the same as in the waking world, yet his friend had taken on a new form, brilliant and strong.

The man creature before Mamoru seemed to understand and the impression floated across the ether.

"It's merely a thought, an image given form in my mind and inhabited by my psyche."

Aware of how this was done, the ripples in the mist telling him, Mamoru replied.

"Why are you here?"

"You have been away for hours now. Your mind-body is in deep, you must return before you lose the connection to your physical self."

"But, it's so close, it's calling me."

"What?" asked Artemis, sure he knew the answer.

"The light."

And with that Mamoru turned and ran into the mist, it melding around his astral form like a liquid, swallowing him and pulling him in.

Artemis followed, resigned to bring his friend out no matter what.

-------

The sun rose over the eastern horizon, bathing the Pacific Ocean in a pink light and creeping through the forest. Slowly, like a liquid gold it bathed the land and seeped through the wood. The open tent was caught in the flow, the dew and condensation evaporating in the dawn light of what promised to be a glorious day. Combing through the grass like a brush, the light crashed upon the forms of a white cat, sitting still, and flowing over him to capture the dark haired man in its luminescence. They did not stir.

-------

Together the astral forms of Mamoru and Artemis waded through the thick mist, slow going in the fog of Mamoru's mind as they neared the seat of his consciousness and the beacon that guided them.

The two men strode through the mist, it parting around their waists, like the current of a river.

Time had no meaning here; minutes passing like hours and hours passing like seconds. Mamoru struggled, his mental form weak and waveringly insubstantial next to the transparent solidity of Artemis.

Yet the dark figure pushed on, his will strengthening the vapourish form he inhabited, drawing strength from the crystals that spun below his feet.

Parting before them, the veil opened, a golden crystal casting its light outward like a brilliant sun.

Both men halted, shocked into numbness by the radiant beauty of the stone.

"That's my Star Seed?" Mamoru said, confusion being conveyed to the act of vocalization, through the ether.

"Or Soul Stone, Pure Heart, or whatever. It's you, your essence, your soul, who you are." Artemis replied, his tone and the emotion behind it awestruck. How did he know this? He had never been so far into the core of another being. Let alone himself.

Mamoru took a slow step forward, staggering, intent on touching the solidified light of his spirit that lay before him, calling out.

Parting and swirling into a cone, the mist coalesced, the bright gold hue paling to a pristine white. And the white cone peeled away, revealing the figure of a young boy, blonde haired, blue eyed and clad in robes the tint of purest snow.

Mamoru stopped and stared at the figure, which was looking at him with a benevolent smile on its face.

"Helios," Mamoru said, recognizing the figure.

"Hello Endymion. I'm glad to see you."

"Why are you here, my friend? This isn't the dream realm."

Artemis thought to interject and explain it to Mamoru but he was silenced as the boy spoke.

"In truth, the realms of the dream world and astral plane are combined. When in trance the mind is unfettered by the body. In a dream state, the soul flies free, creating comfort for itself and resolving problems from the waking world. The act of being separate from the body allows entrance to my realm. But to answer your original question, I am here for a reason."

"What reason?" Mamoru was confused, fatigue clawing at him, attempting to draw him back to the physical.

"This," Helios replied, stepping aside and indicating the Star Seed. "The Golden Crystal of The Earth. You have overcome yourself, your doubts and fears and the pains of your heart. You have accepted your destiny, willingly and with all your being. And I am here to unlock it. It is now the time that I pass on my guardianship and give it to he who seeks it, his birthright."

Mamoru was confused. Helios had helped unlocked the powers of the Moon Senshi, bringing them to a new level of power, enhancing them. Why was he here now? And Mamoru now knew this crystal for what it was, the horn of the Pegasus, the centre of the Dead Moon Circus' quest on Earth. His legacy.

"Why did you appear now, why not before, when I needed help, when I was broken and in pain. Why not when you first appeared to my daughter?"

"It's a complicated situation. You were not prepared, unwilling, torn between what you wanted and what you thought you wanted. You were not complete. Acceptance was required. I can explain it but time is short."

Mamoru increased his focus, the crystals below him, blasting forth in their innate light, strengthening him.

"Explain. Please."

"In short; her majesty was in a similar situation. She could not accept her destiny, her path as ruler and leader. The power of the Silver Crystal of The Moon, slept in her, waiting. When confronted with the darkness of Beryl, and the pain of the losses she bore witness to, her mother was with her, and when she accepted who she was, the power of the stone awakened, bursting forth. Her heart is her strength."

"She had the Crystal all along?"

"Now you, your reasoning, by accepting, have come unto your birthright, your full powers, which you must learn to use in time. Take the crystal, embrace yourself." Helios said, completely ignoring Mamoru's question.

Artemis stood back, events assaulting him. Usagi had accepted the power with her heart, her love for her friends awakening the force within her. Mamoru had struggled with it, confused, his reason and logic struggling with something he could barely fathom. Opening himself, his acceptance finally reached, he was confronted with his true potential. At the core of it all, lay the acceptance of what they were, their belief and most of all, their true being revealed.

Mamoru stepped forward, his hand outstretched, reaching towards the crystal that beckoned him, that would make him whole, complete. It was what he was missing, the constant niggle, the piece of the jigsaw that had eluded him.

Helios looked at Artemis, thoughts entering the cat's head, explaining things, revealing the truth. Mamoru's pain of doubt, his foolish heart, his constant fear that maybe he was inadequate, that something was not right, had prevented this event. And up until this moment, this now, still would.

Mamoru's hand enclosed around the crystal, a sense of completion and revelation encompassing his being. With a pulse, the crystal spewed forth its brilliance, bathing the ether in golden light and washing away all senses and perception.

-------

As the midday sun cast its light upon the field of grass that lay high in the mountains, the figure of the man, legs crossed and hands open, fell back, sleep claiming his exhausted shell. The white cat beside him toppled from its sitting position, the crescent moon on its forehead flaring as it collapsed into the grass. And the grass, once asleep, now awoke, bursting forth in wildflowers.

-------

Artemis awoke. He stood and shook himself off. The light dew that covered him was chill in the night air. It was, judging by the moon, sometime before midnight. He walked over to Mamoru, stretching to clear the stiffness from his joints.

Mamoru lay where he had fallen, his breathing shallow and regular, and the expression on his face unreadable. Artemis placed his forehead against Mamoru's own. There was no fever and Mamoru's astral self had returned to his body.

Artemis grinned. So Helios had been waiting for this moment like he himself had. Waiting for Mamoru to accept who he was. And once that was accomplished, Helios could complete the task that had been placed before him centuries ago. He would use the Crystal as he saw fit to aid and guide until its rightful owner could take it upon himself.

Artemis turned and ran to the tent. He returned minutes later dragging a blanket in his teeth. Struggling with the thick material, he covered Mamoru and proceeded to clean the lint out of his mouth.

He curled up by Mamoru's side, partially under the blanket and lay down. Now he would just have to wait.

-------

Azel cursed on his throne. He could feel the ripple, spreading throughout the realities. How long had it taken to travel from the astral plane, through the realities and come to his awareness? Time meant nothing where the souls breathed. A power, bright and commanding, like a fire in the dark had been ignited. But where and by whom?

Summoning his power, he winked from existence.

-------

Mamoru awoke. His head felt leaden, yet he was refreshed. He questioned his surroundings before he realised he was still in the field. Throwing the blanket off him he sat, rubbing his eyes as he struggled to overcome the dregs of sleep. Opening his eyes he saw Artemis sitting before him, a smile on his face.

He wondered how the cat managed it, lacking the right muscles and all.

He stood, rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms to the sky.

The ground on either side of him burst open, spurs of rock jutting to the air to come to the height of his waist, wildflowers blooming with rapidity before his eyes.

Above him, in the sky, birds spiralled and behind Artemis, the many and myriad creatures of the field sat, their age old struggles and the game of hunter - prey forgotten in this one moment.

He looked to Artemis, and grinned half sheepishly, half bemused, at what he had just witnessed, yet saw that the cat's eyes were sparkling.

"Good morning your Majesty," the feline said.

Mamoru remembered what had happened as Artemis' greeting was repeated throughout the field and the air by a multitude of incomprehensible voices.

- The King has returned -

- The King has returned -

Mamoru smiled down at the cat, his friend, who sat before him.

"Let us go back to the inn, Artemis. I want to walk and feel the land under my bare feet."

**Chapter Twelve**

**SOUL FIRE BURNING**

_"Don't look, don't look, the shadows breathe_

_Whispering me away from you_

_Don't wake at night to watch her sleep_

_You know what you will always see"_

_The Cure - "Burn" - The Crow OST Album_

-------

Makoto stormed down the quiet hallways of the Hikawa Shrine. She turned and opened the rice paper screen, almost ripping it from its place on the wall.

Nine pairs of eyes turned in her direction. Minako stood up from the chair arm she was perched on and moved to a nearby closet and opened the door.

"Would you like to slam this Mako?" she asked the Senshi of Thunder.

"That's not funny," Makoto said glaring at her, but nonetheless came over to her and slammed the closet door. She rubbed her upper left arm.

No one else said a word. It was obvious that something was bothering Makoto and chances were strong that it was going to be the exact reason they were here. The room they were in served as a lounge in the Shrine, a large sliding panel revealing a well-manicured lawn and pond, fat carp swimming in its greenish waters. Luna sat on a cushion, her back to the pond, facing the sliding door that Makoto had just entered through, now looking rather worse for wear. A low table dominated the centre of the room, fresh-cut flowers sitting in a vase on the burnished veneer. On either side of the table sat a two-person couch and an armchair, pale cream in colour and very overstuffed. While the tensions between the Inner and Outer branches of the court were near non-existent, on occasions such as this, more often then not, the group would divide. On Luna's right were the Outer Senshi, Setsuna standing, leaning against the couch which held both Hotaru and Michiru. Hotaru sat straight up, her ribs still tender, while Michiru sat with her legs curled beneath her, the Deep Aqua Mirror in her lap. In the large chair, Haruka sat low, her long legs out before her crossed at the ankles. She had a dark look on her face. On the left of the black cat sat the Inner Senshi, Ami and Rei seated on the couch, Rei holding an ice pack to her face. Usagi sat curled in a ball on the armchair, Mina beside her on the arm, a hand resting upon Usagi's shoulder. Makoto walked to the back of the couch and stood behind it, her hands propped on the back as she leaned against it. She received a small static shock, and pulled her hand back, shrugging it off.

Luna coughed gently, gathering the attention of everybody present, then spoke.

"As you are aware, we are here to discuss recent events that have occurred. Primarily, the appearance of youma and the deliberate attacks on certain Senshi, and second, the prolonged absence of Mamoru and Artemis."

At that Usagi looked up, then slowly lowered her head again. Minako stroked her head while Luna continued.

"We know for a fact that this new enemy is powerful, fast and we can presume that he is working to a planned timetable of some description. The fact that he has attacked several of you and inflicted damage even while you had your guard up, suggests that he is holding back a percentage of his power and is not fully extending himself.

"He could have easily killed me while I was unconscious," Hotaru spoke with a straight face. She didn't like the fact she was helpless before this adversary, but that didn't stop the facts from being there, plain and simple.

Luna nodded at Hotaru and began again.

"While we have all heard what happened to Hotaru, a week ago, we haven't heard what happened to Michiru and Rei, and I am guessing by her late arrival, Makoto." It was agreed upon after Minako's recovery that she not be informed of her previous state of mind, for reasons of sparing her and maintaining a working team dynamic without the shadow of a further breakdown over their heads. It was argued as to whether this was the best course of action, yet Setsuna had vehemently insisted upon it.

Michiru straightened up and looked to each of the Senshi. Slowly she looked down to her mirror and moving forward placed it on the table.

"I was looking in the mirror about three days ago. Hotaru didn't get up until the next day and Haruka was out looking for Mamoru. I was trying to both help find Mamoru and see if I could learn anything about our enemy. I managed to get a flash of the wilderness while looking for Mamoru before I lost the connection."

Usagi smiled half heartily at this. At least now she had an idea, albeit slim, where he was.

"I started to search out the enemy and all I got was static." Michiru was struggling for words to describe things. The Deep Aqua Mirror and its workings were like second nature to her and visions and impressions from it couldn't really be explained in words. "Then the surface went black and the edge cold," she tentatively reached out to the mirror but drew her hand back. Haruka was looking at her with a bleak compassion in her eyes. She hadn't heard the story or seen the hidden toll it had taken on her partner. Something else rattled in Haruka's eyes and she blanched slightly, turning away.

"A face appeared, white skin, like bone with glowing red eyes and lank greasy black hair. It chuckled, yellow jagged teeth gleaming sickly in its grey saliva," she shuddered at the memory, "then he winked at me. He spoke then, his voice deep and gravelly, almost chilling me to the bone. He said that I really shouldn't be eavesdropping and then his arm, yellow claws on his fingers, leapt out of the mirror, straight at my throat. If I hadn't dropped it..." She trailed off.

Hotaru reached a hand out to her. Haruka's own hand moved slightly, twitching, but stayed in her lap.

There was silence as the story sunk in and each of the Senshi looked at Michiru. Rei stood and placed her icepack on the table, which Ami quickly swiped up. She walked to the bare expanse of floor between the furniture and the limp hanging rice panel and began to pace.

"I was out getting groceries yesterday afternoon," Rei jumped straight in without any preamble. She was annoyed at being hit by the bastard, but more so from the fact that she had failed to sense him. She had noted how Luna hadn't mentioned that. "I was about halfway back when everything seemed to get dull. Birds quiet, no traffic noise, very few people, I just assumed that it was a lull, considering the schools were still in. I was passing an alleyway when a fist came out and struck me. I fell down, and, I assume it was the same individual," Rei packed some real vehemence behind that word, "that struck me, came into my field of vision, smiling, and hit me again. I didn't even sense him, but I should have been on guard. The animals knew, but I didn't." Her voice dropped off towards the end of her sentence.

Ami stood up and walked over to Rei, handing her the semi melted ice pack and placing a hand on her shoulder. The injury had seemed minor but had swollen quite impressively overnight.

Rei fought down the urge to shrug it off and merely went back to the couch and sat down.

Makoto pushed herself off and stood, rubbing her arm again. She could feel her anger building. It was similar to what she guessed the others felt, outrage and shock that they had been unable to do anything. The hair on her arms was standing on end and she could hear crackling in her ears. She ignored it.

"Not much to tell really, I was on my way here and a felt a grip on my arm, like a vice. I was spun around and he stuck his face into mine. His breath stank. He asked me if I wanted to dance and then spun me around. I hit the wall and when I got up, he kicked me in the stomach and bowed at me, and when I had blinked the tears away he was gone."

Luna looked serious all through the retelling of their stories. The 'he' used obviously meant that the description given by Michiru suitably fitted the being responsible for the following attacks. She had a feeling that maybe Michiru, Rei and Makoto were deliberately targeted. Hotaru had sensed him, while Rei, a talented psychic had failed to detect him. That and the fact that Hotaru had come upon him feeding, for want of a better word, while the others had not. Maybe the young girl had forced this creature to out himself prematurely, to forge ahead with his schedule?

The fact that she could feel Makoto's raw energy spilling into the air was distracting but she tried to form the hypothesis into a sentence that would not offend her charges nor leave them in any doubt that they had been suckered.

She was about to say as such when she was interrupted. The voice was quiet and she was shocked to find it was Haruka speaking.

"I saw him too." Her voice stuttered slightly, admitting even an unintentional weakness was difficult. "I was out looking for Mamoru, probably just after Michiru had her 'visitation'. I was just driving when I turned and he was sitting beside me. He didn't do anything just..."

Michiru had moved to Haruka while she said this. She was unaware of this and was half concerned when Haruka had returned home and closeted herself in her room. But lost in her own thoughts it really hadn't seemed important. She shook the bizarre feeling off. Now that she knew why she hadn't seen her lover, she could do something about it. She sat on the arm of the chair and wrapped her arm around Haruka's slumped shoulders. The blonde went stock-still and Michiru removed her arms, looking hurt. Tension sat in the room like an unwanted guest as the Senshi looked at the pair.

Minako was about to ask the question that everyone wanted to voice, "just what," the tension being so evident, from both the statement made and Haruka's reaction to Michiru, but was silenced when Setsuna waggled a finger at her. The Senshi of Time had been silent the entire time, but had obviously been taking everything in.

A beep sounded, breaking the tension like a smashed window, Ami looked from the confusing pair to Makoto who had rolled her sleeve up, allowing the Senshi of Ice to scan her arm. Makoto's eyes still fixed on Uranus and Neptune. The computer, left to its own devices, had simply clarified Ami's original diagnosis.

"Well, it's a stress fracture," Ami coughed, unhappy about being the one to bring them out of a situation that clearly needed to be dealt with, "Not really serious with your healing, but you should ease up the use for a couple of days."

Setsuna was casting her eyes around the room. It was an uneasy feeling on the edge of awareness, familiar and yet not, following up the tension which had slowly flown out the window, gone, but not as far away as they would like.

"We may not have time," she stated simply.

Before anyone could respond the rice paper screen opened, the stress making it fall off what little hinge still held it up. The figure in the doorway grinned as he caught sight of the women before him, and his eyes flashed to the broken door. The cat on his shoulder did likewise.

"Knock, knock?" he said rather sheepishly, a blush creeping up his cheeks.

Usagi had looked at the door when she had heard it slide, a confused frown come smile turning into a wide grin as she saw whom their visitor was. She squealed in delight and leapt off the chair into his arms as he entered the room. Minako fell as the chair tumbled sideways, the uneven weight unbalancing her and her perch, while Artemis leapt from Mamoru's shoulder as Usagi flung herself at him.

The cat landed nimbly on all fours, which is more than can be said for Minako, landing on her bottom rather unceremoniously. Artemis grinned at her as she stood, rubbing her backside.

"Want me to rub it for you?" Haruka asked mumbling, obviously forcing the words between her conflicting emotions, the entrance of Mamoru and the tumbling of Minako having pushed the memory of her actions to the side. Best they forgot all about it. It was an effort, but she couldn't let them see her affected by the enemy. Angry once more, she sunk back into the chair.

Michiru would normally have slapped Haruka on the arm, her look saying 'behave yourself' rather loudly but she simply stood up and moved towards the pond looking out into it green depths.

No laughter from the Senshi either, but strangely the arrival of Endymion had loosened the last of the uncomfortable silence. The black cat was amazed; it seemed that now that Usagi and Mamoru were reunited, the overall mood had risen in comparison to Usagi's. Like the Senshi existed in a relative symbiosis to their Queen.

Setsuna looked from both Haruka to Michiru, her mind working ninety to the dozen. Something had just happened which she couldn't grasp but the dynamic imbalance had pretty much fucked the atmosphere completely. Looking closer and deeper, she barely managed to control a sharp intake of shocked breath. The plan now seemed clearer, but she would have to follow up on this later to avoid suspicion.

When she turned back to the rest of the group the mood had lifted and Luna had greeted Artemis, calling their meeting to order once again. The cat was coughing to get their attention.

Setsuna wondered why Luna bothered. Mamoru and Usagi were still locked in an embrace, their mouths searching, the outside world just a momentary distraction to their bliss.

Luna coughed again, finally breaking the two up. Usagi blushed while Mamoru grinned from ear to ear.

"Can we help you Luna?" he asked.

"Yes Mamoru," Luna replied, refusing to take the bait, "we were discussing our enemy, who you are unaware of, and were about to consider any possible courses of action."

"Oh, no, I am quite aware of our new hindrance. In fact he paid me a visit, technically."

Usagi's grip tightened as Mamoru said this, and he moved them to the armchair Mina had previously righted. She was glaring at it from her perch on the side of the sofa, so Mamoru sat, Usagi ferreting her way into his lap, her arms still locked around his neck.

"Artemis and I got back to the ryokan late last night and found our room in a shambles, scorch marks all over the place and the furniture shattered. We went immediately to the manager who apologized and reimbursed us the cost of accommodation. We went back to get our stuff and Artemis found my watch communicator. It was smashed and embedded in the cracked floor. It was in a depression shaped like a foot and above it was a handprint, like the 'stomper' had rested against the wall. The guy had flared his powers and totally wrecked the place. Obviously he wanted me out of contact, so Artemis and I came right back to Tokyo after that. When Usagi wasn't at home, I came straight here."

"That explains why we were unable to contact you," Minako stated, rather obsolete, in light of Mamoru's tale.

"So what do we do about it?" Haruka asked, her tone black and disinterested.

-------

Nothing had really been resolved, apart from Luna conveying her theory, in that they may all come into contact with the creature, and a discussion on the powers their enemy had actually exhibited. The gathering had broken up soon after. The Senshi had broken up into smaller groups, and dispersed to various parts of the temple grounds as was the norm.

Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru stood talking near the steps down to street level; Hotaru was talking quietly to Ami, no doubt in a discussion about her injuries.

Setsuna turned to the pair beside her.

"Whatever problem you have, discuss it now and get it over with. Whatever childish conflict you have going on, now isn't the time for it. Babysitting you two as well as the Inner Senshi, is far more burden than I require at present. Deal with it and get on with finding out more about our enemy."

Setsuna's tone was chill. If she couldn't get these two rational, she would have to throw duty into their faces. If anything, time had shown that the pair could put duty above all else. Even their comrades, even each other. The Death Busters alone had proven that.

Forcibly but with a lingering cold, she softened her tone.

"I take it that you would like some time alone to discuss things?" The question wasn't really pointed or directed at any specific thing but the meaning was clear.

Haruka just turned away, so Michiru answered.

"Yes please, Setsuna. Could you possibly bring her back later?"

"I was considering giving you too the evening alone and taking Hotaru to one of the safe houses." The fact she a plan to follow through, and help was required, didn't need mentioning.

"That's even better." Michiru replied, her unspoken concern for her sullen partner obvious.

"No problem." Setsuna said simply, turning and walking away.

Michiru watched her go and spun around to face Haruka. The Senshi of Wind had only spoken briefly during the meeting and in clipped harsh sentences, aside of course from her forced innuendo. Michiru was scared. Whatever their enemy had said had obviously stung Haruka, which in itself was a rare feat. There was little that could faze Haruka. She wasn't sure she could deal with whatever it was, but for the sake of her love and as Setsuna had so bluntly made clear, duty; she would be there for her and not force the issue. Haruka would tell her when she was ready.

She placed her hand on Haruka's arm and ushered her towards the steps and down. Haruka, stiffened, made no comment and followed.

Setsuna watched all this from the position she had taken beside Ami and Hotaru, listening to the conversation before her but looking at the pair near the steps. She turned to the conversation as Ami announced that apart from some stiffness of movement, Hotaru was almost back on form.

Setsuna looked down at Hotaru whilst signalling Ami with her hand to remain.

"Hotaru, you and I shall be spending tonight at one of the safe houses," she believed the reasoning behind this obvious and Hotaru simply nodded.

Hotaru looked back at Setsuna.

"And now you want to talk to Ami without my listening so you want me to leave." Without waiting for a reply, Hotaru simply walked off to join the remaining Inner Senshi, who were seated beneath a tree across the courtyard.

"Perceptive isn't she?" Ami stated.

"Yes and getting a little too big for her britches."

"I wouldn't worry Setsuna," Ami replied, "she is put out at herself more than anything and it is just rubbing off on everybody else. She thinks she failed."

"That may be so, but letting her anger take over is asking for trouble. Besides I didn't know child psychology was a hobby of yours?"

Ami had no answer for that.

"Well," Ami said after what she hoped was an appropriate silence, "you wanted to speak to me about something?"

"Yes, Naydar in fact. He disappeared, as you are aware, after speaking with Rei and thanks to his less than socially acceptable behaviour, in regards to Minako, we were able to deal with that unfortunate situation." With that both glanced in Minako's direction. She was seated between Rei and Makoto with Hotaru before them. She didn't notice them looking.

"I was meaning to ask about that," Ami said turning to face Setsuna.

"His powers were unexpected. Originally his powers manifested a lot later than expected and seemed to be some sort of conglomeration of powers from both his parents. His powers usually expressed themselves in the form of gravity and pressure manipulation and the ability to sense energy fields."

"So he used this sense to find the anomaly in her brain?" Ami queried.

"The letter didn't say much, he just said that we should take a closer look at her brain. Apparently he had seen something similar before but didn't say when."

"I really want to speak to him about it," Ami mumbled half to herself, an inquisitive glint in her eye.

"Chances are its something you don't need to know. But if you see him, let me know, I want a word with him too. I'll talk to you later."

And with that Setsuna walked toward the small group near the entrance of the temple comprised of Mamoru, Usagi and both cats. She knew exactly where Jack was, she had merely decided to let him deal with whatever was bothering him. Approaching the group, she managed to catch the tail end of the conversation.

"We had no idea. Damn, is she okay?"

"She appears to be fine but we don't want to mention it to her in case of..."

"Enough said," Artemis interrupted, "I feel awful."

"Artemis, there is no use in beating yourself up over something you had no control over," Setsuna said, hoping to stop any bad feelings before they could take hold. "You and Mamoru weren't to know and besides, I believe that your excursion bore more fruit than expected."

Mamoru looked at her sidelong, questioning, but she didn't say anything else. Artemis looked guilty. Setsuna obviously knew, and she hadn't said anything. Both males decided to remain tight-lipped for the meantime.

Whatever tension had been mounting was broken as Yuuichirou came out of the temple and looked around. He trotted over to Ami and muttered something to her. She went pale and quickly turned and ran down the steps. This gained everyone's attention and they all moved over towards the front of the shrine, Rei in front and fuming.

"What did you say to her, idiot!"

"I just gave her a phone message."

"What! You upset her!"

"Hey, don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger. Urawa called when you were in your pow-wow, and asked that I give her a message."

Rei had her fists clenched at this stage, angry that he wasn't getting to the point. Setsuna, Usagi and Mamoru had come over and Mamoru placed a restraining hand on Rei's shoulder.

"What was the message, man?" Mamoru asked.

"Something about a call, bad news from Helvetica and her urgently needing to call them back."

"But from the look on her face, it's as if someone died," Makoto commented.

-------

Ami practically ran the whole way home. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. If Luna was right, which was a fair assumption since Setsuna hadn't interjected, this could be the enemy making a play against her.

No one had mentioned it, neither Setsuna nor Luna but the pattern existed that they, he, the enemy seemed to follow. They had struck Rei through the lack of sense, her pride was her faith and abilities, Makoto through physical strength, Mina through her heart and obviously somehow had got to both Michiru and Haruka as well, possibly through their relationship with each other.

If she was correct, the enemy was making blatant attempts on the dominant attribute of the Senshi in order to weaken them. At least, the attributes that they were aware off.

It was only logical they strike at Ami through her academia.

Her mind reeled at this and she simply ran, faster and faster.

-------

Naydar lay back. His breath was ragged and broken as he struggled to get the air back into his lungs. For the past week he had been secluded in this warehouse in an abandoned industrial complex, training and attempting to ascertain what he could and couldn't do with his new body.

The Lady Hino had told him that he was out of synch. His physical body and astral body were a good fit but they didn't mesh quite well enough. That was not a bother in the grander scope. The problem was his lack of power. It was as he had suspected; this body just wasn't adapted to the forces he could control. The only way he was even able to access his powers was the fact his soul had firmly taken route.

Other things had come to his attention over the last week. His subspace pocket, or tesseract, was only available in a transformed state. In fact any manifestation of his powers required a transformation. Untransformed he retained the browny-blonde hair and speckled eyes he had had when Mercury had examined him. The two entities, or awareness' within him, each had control over a certain aspect, each having more recognisable traits and habits. He was in control all the time, things just happened differently when he was one or the other.

It nearly gave up figuring it out, but it came at him in his sleep. He was Naydar, he was Jack, yet he was both and none. It was this kind of existentialism that had given him no end of trouble when he was studying magic.

He was glad he had studied magic though. That had been what had helped him see what was wrong with the Lady Aino. That and the fact it was a demon stalwart, breaking the will of the victim before claiming their soul.

Missing his powers, it was almost like having a limb missing. He had seen Senshi use their powers on a global scale without breaking a sweat; in fact he had done it himself once and had nearly died because of it. Now he couldn't even knock over a bottle one hundred meters away.

So amid the melancholy and remembrances he had pushed his new body. And he had pushed it. He had focused his power, manipulated it and attempted every feat he had done before including meditation and prayer. And he had slept like the dead, his body leaden and exhausted.

But he had made some breakthroughs. He had become enraged when he couldn't blast some bottles with a small orb of concentrated gravity. In anger he had thrown an apple that was to be his mid-afternoon snack. The apple had sailed through the air, shattered the bottle into a fine glass dust and bit deep into the concrete floor before exploding in a cloud of pulp and juice.

After trying it again, this time with a fragment of the shattered concrete, he realized that by focusing for some time on an object he could increase its mass. After some thought and practice with more fragments, he relaxed his energy tap, showered, dressed and left for downtown.

Sometime later he returned, the credit card he had appropriated from Setsuna having seen some heavy use. Luckily she hadn't discontinued it. Jack threw the clothing onto his futon, a stretchy lycra t-shirt beside the long coat he had bought when he had first arrived, and emptied the remaining contents of the bag onto the table. He had paid three times the worth for the shiny blue-grey silver pistol. It was a big gun, he had no idea what it was called, but it was an impressive piece of hardware. Also in the bag was a box of bullets, some fifty odd and a black leather holster which sat around the back of the waist.

Transforming once again, a more or less constant state for him over the last few days, he began focusing his power like he had with the concrete fragments, a bullet now clenched in his fist. A repetitive and time consuming process. And utterly exhausting.

After some time he realized that this use of his power made him extraordinarily hungry. It was an understandable occurrence, the power he wielded being a type of bio-kinetic energy and thus needing more fuel for it to trigger the magical response, as it were. That coupled with the fact he was 'out of synch' he was running on empty, most fatty tissue on his otherwise bulky Senshi form having already turned to lean muscle.

He never really bothered with the mechanics behind it. Nor did he now. The focus was to be ready for whatever he had been sent here for.

Deep in his mind however, the thought nagged at him still. Exhaustion, excessive consumption of food and sleeping overlong. Would his powers burn this body out like a light bulb? And subconsciously it drove him on, to greater feats of training. He could not fail.

-------

"I sensed it as soon as you entered the room. In fact, I am quite surprised Usagi and Rei did not also"

Usagi, who had previously been wrapped around Mamoru, his arm over her shoulder, looked at Setsuna. "What?"

"Well, your Highness, it seems that your consort here is due for congratulations."

Both Luna and Usagi looked confused, while Artemis looked like he wanted to be elsewhere.

"Look harder, and not just with your eyes, Princess."

Both Usagi and Luna looked at Mamoru, who seemed uncomfortable with the attention and was scuffing his foot nonchalantly.

Luna gasped, followed by Usagi tilting her head and turning to Setsuna, a squint furrowing her brow, "Its different, there's something else there? It's warm." It was stated as a question, but it was better than nothing at all.

"Congratulations," Luna said grinning, an amazing feat considering the required facial muscles were missing.

Usagi still looked confused and Artemis seemed more relaxed, realizing Luna wasn't about to berate him for not telling her sooner. That was fine with him though, but he still wasn't going to start anything.

"Mamoru has come into his power," said Setsuna, "How is Helios by the way?"

"It is understandable that Usako failed to notice it, she has been concerned with the others and I kind of skipped out without telling her," Mamoru noted. He stopped "Hang on, how did you know that..." Mamoru trailed off. He often forgot that Setsuna had been around for longer than all of them, both metaphysically and temporally.

Setsuna took this in and nodded. Usagi also took something in, drawing back from Mamoru and eyeing him critically.

"I'm in shit aren't I?" he asked to nobody in particular, realising that bringing up his absence was a misstep he could have avoided.

-------

Hotaru stood by the main steps, looking out over the city below and above. So she had stumbled upon this enemy in the midst of his lunch and he had let her have it. If she had been careful and not rushed him like an amateur, taken the time at gauge him and his strengths, then maybe the idea to attack each Senshi separately might not have occurred to him or them.

Her ineptitude. Her fault.

-------

Makoto slammed the apartment door. While she had attempted to push the anger aside during and after the meeting, on the slow and painful walk home her irritation had flared.

She threw her lightweight coat off and over an armchair and pulled her hair tie roughly. She winced as it gave, pulling a few snarls as well as some loose and not so loose hairs from her scalp. She threw the offending tie across the room. It sailed lazily threw the air as she kicked off her shoes.

She stumbled over to the armchair and slumped into it, unshed tears in her eyes.

So it was just a stress fracture? Still hurt like the dickens. She knew something was wrong with it. It should have more or less been okay by now, what with her accelerated healing, but something about it was wrong! An itch at the back of her perceptions, knawing at her consciousness, attempting to make itself known.

Makoto shook the feeling off, breathing slow and deep, calming herself.

Cherry blossoms, ribbons of pine and green lightening and a rich evergreen scent sparkled and danced through the room as Makoto muttered her henshin phrase. Sailor Jupiter now sat in the armchair; the plush fibres sparked upright with the static.

Her breathing continued, undisturbed by the metamorphosis.

Focus, pushing her power inwards and along nerve fibres, through her arm. The increase in electrical impulses tickled, a powerful sensation of pins and needles. She pressed on as Ami had suggested, using her powers on herself, accelerating the flow and hopefully the healing.

-------

In a place where no one ventures, a realm of half-light and shadows, a spark flickers and bursts forth.

A naked flame, green and burning via some unseen fuel, pink sparks like blossoms floating on a spectral wind. To die.

-------

He lay prostrate on his chest. Whatever was before him was as nothing to all others. Nothing in the sense it consumed all and was alpha and omega. His eyes alone paid heed.

He raised himself onto his knees, his head and eyes still downcast. A sense of satisfaction came from the empty air; whatever wasn't there seemed pleased with the genuflection given.

Azel knelt, bowing before the space that wasn't.

"Yes, My Queen," his sephulric voice intoned, ringing throughout the dark labyrinthine chambers of the Dark Kingdom.

"Indeed, the steps suggested have been taken in order to compromise the integrity of the Senshi as a working dynamic. The one's deemed untouchable have been avoided as to eliminate any unfortunate incidents in the future."

The air shimmered briefly, disgruntled somewhat.

"Yes, My Queen. Those normals specified as untouchable are also being watched and guarded unfailingly, as per your instructions."

The air grunted its pleasure or the zephyrous equivalent.

The thing that wasn't waited, but as no more was forthcoming, it vanished. Its departure rang like a bell to Azel's senses as the awesome power departed.

He waited, still and unmoving for what seemed like minutes, his perceptions taunt and strained.

He stood slowly, his face contorted by a sneer. He turned and spat, curses streaming from his mouth like the grey saliva that was flecked from his teeth.

-------

Hino Rei stood solemnly before the doors to the room that housed the Great Fire. The aspirin, which she had taken after her friends had left, was barely having any effect on the headache that beat like a drum on her brain. This drumbeat played a dull background however to the beating of her heart and the rapid pace of her breath.

It was tempting for her to just turn around and walk away. It was Saturday so there must be some fortunes to be told, prayers to be said or possibly even leaves to be swept. Maybe she could even sleep off this migraine that seemed to get more persistent with each breath.

But it was quiet, and had been since the others had left. Yuuichirou and her grandfather were working quietly somewhere and she could hear the wings of her crows, Phobos and Deimos, beating the air with their black wings, as they lazily circled above the shrine.

She had stayed away. Upset at herself for failing to sense the evil of the youma assailant that had attacked her, Mako and Hotaru. This beast had also attacked Michiru and Haruka, and while not an assault in the physical, as much as she knew, they were all shaken.

She was afraid. Afraid that maybe she had failed and that she was as useless as her father had always said.

Why hadn't she sensed him, this youma? She hadn't and wouldn't put any more ice or a steak on the wound, not when Ami wasn't watching. Her fingers delicately circled the black eye. It was a badge, marking her folly and ineptitude.

She reached out her hand and slid the door, the soft scuffing of the runner familiar and soothing.

The Great Fire sat before her; the darkened room lit by its grand flames and by small candles at regular intervals, interspersed with sticks of incense. The scent trails of these rolled fragrances danced and disappeared into the shaded hollows of the ceiling and the darkened corners set aside for prayer.

Step by step, she came closer, the fire flickering gently.

Five metres away, it sprang up, the flames aware of her and welcoming her familiar presence.

Four metres and the fire sensed a wrongness.

Three metres, and the fire retaliated, bursting forth like a star consumed by a ravening phoenix.

-------

The green flame was joined by another. This flame was a fiery red, its smoke a dirt orange grey, cloying and suffocating.

The two flames were not alone. In a circle, roughly spaced, like some segments are missing, lurked two more flames. One a dusty orange, the colour of gold in its depths, dust motes cavorting unharmed through its diaphanous tongues of flame. The second, a black flame, its edges a violet colour. This flame is cold, its centre pure darkness, yet its gives off a comforting light.

The rainbow glows of unseen embers complete the eight-sided circle.

-------

The gears ground as Haruka seemingly punished the roadster for whatever had happened. Michiru sat quietly in the passenger seat, the only outward sign of her concern, her knuckles. They were clenched hard and white.

Haruka hadn't spoken yet but had immediately taken the driver's seat. She seemed intent on blowing her anger out. That, or killing herself in the process.

And the risks she had taken had been mind numbing in their outward stupidity or calculated skill. Haruka was the skill, but the abandon with which she accelerated and pulled through the traffic yelled at the stupidity. The fact she never drove like this with Michiru was also cause for concern. Even when she was angry at herself, she would never have risked the life of her lover.

Haruka's had been mumbling and finally now, some twenty minutes of white knuckled ride later they were audible.

"Mother fucking bastard," the expletive was punctuated with the squeal of tyres as Haruka spun out to take the corner.

Michiru raised an eyebrow. Any minute now, the boiling anger that Haruka was holding would flood over.

The car weaved in and out the other traffic, horn blasts and unfriendly gestures being thrown in Haruka's wake.

Haruka's face was in a tight scowl; her eyes intent on the road as the wind whipped her hair out behind her. The city was disappearing as they moved towards there home, the Outer's Mansion.

And then Haruka snapped, a wail escaping her mouth as she beat her hands against the dash and steering wheel, the acceleration giving out and the car spinning onto the gravel verge. Haruka continued to bang her hands against the dash, it denting at her strength. Michiru wanted to comfort her lover, but anger this torrential needed to run its course. Haruka bashed her head against the wheel and wrapped her arms around it as the tears poured from her eyes, soaking her shirt and her mournful wail piercing the air. Michiru put her hand on Haruka's shoulder and the Senshi of Wind pulled away, her tearstained face enough to shatter Michiru's heart.

Haruka tried to speak around her sobs, her voice hiccupping as she finally told her partner what had happened, "He called me a freak, a fucking lesbo dyke whore," her voice cracking as the tears increased their flow. "But he did it with the voices and faces of my parents, and my friends and with all the disgust and hatred in the world. And he did it with the Senshi's faces, your face and voice."

Michiru's face fell. Any blood she had in her face left it as the realization sunk in. The bastard had used Haruka's worst fear against her, that of losing Michiru. He had added the rest to punch her down further. Both women knew there would be narrow-minded individuals who wouldn't understand what they shared, but this was worse, using the face of the loved one to throw the only insult that could maim.

Michiru reached out again, her face stricken, trying to comfort Haruka. Haruka pulled away, pain and confusion on her face. Michiru sniffed, a large pearl tear falling down her cheek. She threw the car door open and ran.

-------

And they burst forth, two new flames, one yellow, one a rich aqua - turquoise. Both flames were in separate hearths, yet they reached to one another, the flames curling around one another, the flames turning a grey azure blue.

A harsh cackle of triumph echoed in this other place. Azel watched as the flames burnt, red, orange, yellow, greens and violet. The beginning of ice blue embers were glowing in an unoccupied fire pit.

Azel could not help but revel in his triumph. Where Beryl and Metallia had failed, he had succeeded. He had stepped beyond the limits of his kind and excelled and he now stood triumphant atop the Sailor Senshi. And the rich part was that they were unaware of his victory and any effort they made to thwart him would make his inevitable victory all the sweeter.

He looked to the flames, the circle of fire near completion. Mercury had yet to fall, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn had toppled. As had the Senshi of Neptune and Uranus.

He had particularly enjoyed that, plucking the worst fear from the mind of the Wind Senshi, and using it to break her. It was so wonderfully simple; she didn't care what anybody else believed but that one other person, the Ocean Senshi. Getting Uranus to question the feelings of Neptune for her was genius. In turn Neptune feared losing Uranus. Two birds with one stone, building up from simple insults them changing his face to finish with the face of her lover.

Azel felt something. Remorse? Guilt? Too much fucking television was what it was. His laughter peaked and slowed once more as he turned to his pride and joy, the last of the eight flames. He smiled at it.

The deep red maroon flame seemed angry with him and its burning tongues waved towards Azel, trying to lick him with its fire.

He spat at it.

**Chapter Thirteen**

**INTERLUDE AMI**

_"Everything's so blurry, everyone's so faint_

_Everybody's empty and everything is so messed up_

_Preoccupied without you, cannot live at all_

_My whole world surrounds you"_

_Puddle Of Mudd - "Blurry" - Come Clean_

-------

Ami sat quietly, her gaze turned out the small window next to here. The clouds, grey and like dirty cotton wool embraced the aircraft in a moist warmth. Her eyes did not see the monotonous billowing of the nimbus in the air currents although they were open to it. Instead her mind replayed the events which had lead her to her current situation.

-------

Burning in her brain, the message Yuuichirou had passed onto her pushed her on at a blistering pace, her legs pumping and her blood coursing through her veins like acid. Her mother was at work, was mostly at work, which left her and Urawa alone most of the time for study. He had been studying, today, when he would have been disturbed. All she knew was that something had happened to and in Helvetica, in regards to her, and if her fevered rationale could be trusted, the enemy had taken a stab at tormenting her. If she was correct and somehow this enemy dealt directly to the innermost fears, it was logical it strike at her through her learning.

Sliding she turned abruptly and bounded up the stairs as she entered the small suburban residence she shared with her mother and boyfriend. Her thoughts were running away from her, as she neared the answer she feared, remembering the reasons her mother had consented to allow Urawa to remain here and how her mother had complete trust in her.

Ami stopped as Urawa came down the stairs, pulling a shirt over his head. He had an annoying habit of leaving doors open while he was at home, saying he liked the air flow, which was how Ami knew he hadn't left for class, as she had ran right in.

Urawa looked at her surprised and began his descent once more, tucking his shirt in as he went.

"Ami, I thought that you would want to hear straight away, so I called - I hope I didn't interrupt anything." The concern in his voice was genuine and Ami leant over to catch her breath.

"No, we had just finished," she could worry about Jack and whatever was happening with him later, "what did they say?"

Urawa placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the face. "They just said for you to contact them immediately."

The way in which Urawa said this conveyed the overall tone. He had picked up on something and Ami knew what it was just from his body language.

"They're about to expel me aren't they?"

Urawa's face fell and he nodded. Ami sighed. There could be time for tears and sobs later, now she needed to act.

Urawa looked torn. Ami turned to face him, "Go to your class, I can deal with this."

Urawa still looked torn, today was a big presentation of some of his work and he couldn't really miss it, yet he didn't want to leave Ami alone.

"Go!" she yelled at him pointing towards the door. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek and whispered "Good luck" in her ear as he leaned down for his satchel. Walking towards the door he spun and continued backwards, oblivious to impediments. "I'll get the research notes from your tutors and I've already packed for you all your assignments and essays." And with that he turned and was out the door.

Ami frowned. Why would she need them to be packed?

-------

At thirty thousand feet it was obvious. She was on her way to Helvetica. A quick call to the institute had revealed she could not have spoken to Professor McCoy or even Doctor McTaggart, as both were dead, in fact, they had died on the same day as Usagi's party, their car careening off a cliff. So the conversation she had had, with however, had been false. And that so, all arrangements and conditions were made with nobody and thus were totally void.

So she was sitting on an airplane, bound for Helvetica and aiming to talk them out of expelling her. In any normal learning establishment she would be given leeway, but The Medical University Of Helvetica accepted only a certain amount of students per semester and failure to comply would not only lose your place in that semester but essentially forever. Marks regardless, absence without approved leave was not tolerated.

She could not abide that; it chilled her to the bone. Sure she could study elsewhere, but Urawa was studying there also and she couldn't abandon him. They were lucky their grades were good enough to be allowed the correspondence study they had been granted.

But she was lying to herself; she had to be the best. She struggled with the thought that she could be the best even without attending the Medical University of Helvetica, but her mind balked at it and she stewed over the possibilities, giving herself a stomach-ache.

She was lucky in one regard, her suitcase. Packed first by Urawa and repacked by herself, as quite frankly, he had an appalling notion of fashion, she had found that a flight was leaving in two hours. A crafty reshuffling of passengers with her computer, while morally objectionable, could be worried about later. She had reshuffled the flight passenger listing and placed those that she had moved into first class. She had then paid for her ticket online and with no one the wiser, all records totally legitimate. Her conscience wouldn't have allowed herself a free ride.

She had time to feel bad about her hacking and disruption of peoples lives now. So she did, and her stomach-ache worsened.

-------

In another place, devoid of light, except the ethereal flames of fires that burnt on nothing, a figure sat crossed legged, a water pistol in his hand, facing the slowly growing embers of an ice blue fire.

The maroon flame on his left would occasionally look at him and flicker out towards him. The water pistol was then used. While not a conventional flame, it obeyed the laws of flame, and thus abhorred water. They all did, which had proved beneficial as Azel sat within the circle, his mind reaching out and drawing in the soul energy the flames gave off at irregular intervals.

While youma were by nature a vampiric race, drawing off life force in order to grow more powerful, leaving the victim, intact but exhausted, Azel had learnt new skills. Skills that his race was never meant to know.

The blue embers seemed to flare up and down, as if the power sink they fed off was resisting.

Azel unfolded his legs and stood in a single movement, sinuous and fluid like he hadn't even exerted any energy. He twirled the pistol on his index finger and theatrically blew over the barrel.

"Time to push this one along."

Azel vanished from the dimension and with that one decision, set in motion his own downfall. The deep blood coloured flame had taken all this in and seemed to roll in waves as it burnt, almost like laughter.

-------

Ami had never been an advocate of air travel and combined with her anxiety, had become rather uncomfortable. After gaining some painkillers from the stewardess, she had forced herself to drift off into an uneasy sleep.

The dreams started off normal enough, classes. Well, normal for Ami. She was wearing clothes in the dream, so that was a good indication things would be alright. Her friends were all there talking in a group as she entered. Casting her glance over the lecture hall, she caught faces amongst the unidentifiable masses, faces from memory and nightmare. Nepherenia, Jadeite and random collections of enemies she and her friends had defeated. She shivered but knew they were just figments of her subconscious. The class began and Ami was called upon to read her paper aloud.

Said paper was thrust at her by the lecturer, Doctor McTaggart. This shocked her. Reason kicked in again and said that it was merely Ami dealing with the professor's untimely demise.

Standing at the podium, Ami began to read from the paper before her, knowing instinctually what it said. As she opened her mouth, her words fell forth in a stream unsupported by her brain. Prattle, childish anecdotes and quotes from children's literature flowed forth. Ami was horrified as she attempted to shut her mouth, her eyes welling with tears of panic as her mouth moved of its own volition. Raising her hands she dropped the paper and tried to force her mouth shut but it was locked open, the words flowing forth.

And then it hit her ears, the laughter, pure malicious cackling from every person in the crowd, from her enemies, from her friends and a look of disgust written across Urawa's face as he turned from her in scorn. The tears exploded, cascading down her cheeks as flesh began to fly, the nameless masses exploding, human appendages flying as the youma beneath shed their mortal guise.

Her body began to spin, the laughing faces and scathing remarks from friend and enemies assaulting her senses like sensory overload.

"Why don't you study Ami, you could at least be in elementary school by now rather than kindergarten!" That was Minako, her beautiful face twisted in a diabolical sneer.

"You'd think that even a dullard like you would get smarter in one thousand years time but there is always a exception isn't there? Thicko!" Zoicite, a voice from the past, both recent and deep.

"No way would I let you deliver my daughter!" Usagi screamed, Mamoru holding her shoulder with the annoying self righteous smirk plastered on his face.

And it continued, their hands and nails seeming to want to tear her apart, insults and fists flying as both Senshi and youma threw disparaging remarks into her teeth.

And the last, a mutter yet heard above all else and a mutter that shattered her resolve and ignited a chorus of jeers and catcalls.

"I'm too good for a dumb bitch like you." Urawa spoke and walked away.

Ami screamed, her reality falling away from her as the dream coalesced and merged into a muddy brown kaleidoscope.

The laughter stopped and when it filtered through to her mind that all was silence, Ami stopped her throat-scrapping scream and opened her eyes.

Before her stood Doctor McTaggart, her glasses perfectly straight on her nose and not a hair out of place, immaculate white lab coat making her seem like an vision, a signalled end to the nightmare.

"Ami, dear, ahm afraid to sae that ye have got a F," and with that a test paper was thrust into Ami's face. Ami feel backwards landing on her bottom and staring in abject horror as her teacher's face melted like wax, her eye's popping and hair falling out as worms burrowed through her skull. A wet splash sounded and Ami struggled to not look at the pile of entrails that had fallen from beneath the lab coat. The stench of death assaulted Ami's nostrils as she turned back to look at the greying flesh of the doctor's face.

The animated corpse chuckled, it jaw unhinging and falling to clatter on the ground, teeth shooting off to bounce in all directions. The test paper crumbled into ash and the outstretched hand flicked an accusatory finger to point at Ami, the nail dislodging in the abrupt motion and scoring a cut across Ami's cheek.

Ami backed away on all fours and the chuckling stopped as the sightless, jawless corpse grinned at her with a demonic approximation of satisfaction.

"F for fuck off!" It screamed as the pointing index finger was joined by the middle appendage and flicked upwards at her.

A fierce tempest exploded from behind the cadaver, its coat billowing before its rotted body shattered and its laughter and limbs floated away. Ami dodged the limbs and the wind increased its tempo, pushing her backward shoulders first. Back, her legs and arms stretched before her like she had been sucker punched in the midsection Ami flew through the lecture hall doors and into blackness.

-------

The quiet figure of the transformed Naydar / Jack Argusson entity was positioned in a tradition battle stance, his body signs slow as he fought to gain control of his body. He had harnessed but a small measure of his potential power and it scared him that he may be useless in the upcoming battle. And he knew it was coming. The entire incident with The Lady Aino reeked of the Fell Queen, and if he was any judge of character, a psycho hose beast like that was gonna start all kinds of trouble for sheer amusement.

Fell Queen? He shook the strange sounding words off. As quickly as they registered in his mind they vanished again. Panicking momentarily, but not knowing why, he calmed himself.

If he couldn't aid the Senshi as he should have - muttered swearing peppered the air - then he would at least help them out by leaking information, whether it be about their own powers or their enemies' likely strikes.

"That, Crius, is something I cannot allow."

"Hello Pluto," Naydar muttered, "and what thinks you can stop me from doing what I believe is best." He didn't even flinch as she had spoken but had still addressed her as fitting her current role.

"Because you haven't done anything I haven't allowed you to, that much I can see. Plus, your being here call's into question any events you partake in, thus creating a risk you will never be born."

"That I can deal with if I can avoid what I saw. Besides," his voice gaining a bitter edge, "we both know that this rebirth is a double edged sword."

"And what did you see? Us all dead and dying, bodies of men and women, raped and eaten on the battlefield by demons and nightmares? All hope for the future lost as everyone and everything we know lies destroyed and you having just disobeyed a direct order, from The Queen, no less, to be there? And yes I know."

"Then why ask, dammit!" His pose was broken now and he stood facing Setsuna, his arms were by his side, but his fists were clenched tight. "And do not dare to throw my participation into my face! If I hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here now and you would all be in a world of hurt! Besides being dead now or then don't mean jack!"

Setsuna studied him carefully. He seemed to have made his proposed alterations to his costume, a grey Lycra T-shirt underneath the white shirt and a holster belt of some description around his waist. A long coat, a deep black in colour lay over a nearby chair, a blue flash of cloth on the back and another from within a pocket. She had apologized for bringing him through, several times in fact, and it seemed now that he knew the consequences fully. Sadly, it couldn't, wouldn't be help.

"Nice threads."

This took him aback; he was expecting a threat of some variety or at least a withering retort. He got neither, merely a heartfelt look.

"I saw the aftermath Crius, I saw the carnage and the ruination. And Saturn survived, as did my counterpart. But casting a pebble into the timestream here could cause problems further along. I don't think I could contemplate a world without you and if your parents and sisters could choose they would not wish to be without you either. We will do this my way and we will do it right. We are safe so far as I do not feel the timeline bucking at its moorings. We can deal the hand we have been dealt now as all is in place. But I have to go now, however though; I shall be back soon. And that I am sorry, once more."

The portal appeared behind her, ripple sheen of purple and violet whites, and without breaking her gaze she stepped backwards, through and vanished.

Naydar fell to his knees, his limp hands knuckle down on the concrete. The fact she had used his royal title indicated it was an order, but her tone was so like the woman who had helped raise him, and teach him.

"Thank you Setsuna. Welcome back." Tears ran off his cheeks to lie in the dust before him. Maybe they had a chance and he could go home, however slim the possibility.

-------

Ami opened her eyes, hoping she would not regret it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the plane was still flying and there were no corpses yelling at her.

She breathed deep and sat herself upright, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her fists. Pulling them away she couldn't help but stare at her right fist, as a line of blood ran across it. Placing the tips of her middle and index fingers against her cheek, they came away bloody.

She was still dreaming.

As if the realisation had ripped down the wall of illusion, the plane became a chaotic madhouse, passengers running up and down the aisle, some on fire, others fighting off other passengers that were attacking them.

Trying to remain calm, Ami slowly undid the seatbelt that seemed reluctant to let her go. Moving to the aisle and looking towards the cockpit, she saw nothing but mayhem, towards the tail the same. Attempting to bring the dreamscape back under her control, she turned and stumbled against a young man. He had long dark hair and glasses and looked as concerned as she. He grasped her shoulders, yet the contact was gentle.

"What's going on!" he yelled over the confusion.

"Its a dream!" screamed Ami, attempting to carry her voice over the throng.

A knowing grin slid across the young man's face and his grip tightened on Ami's shoulders, enough that she felt something scrape. The flesh tone of his face had run off like mascara and his glasses had cracked down the centre, gleaming red eyes revealed. The boy's teeth had become a sickly yellow, canine incisors for the most part, a rank stench riding his very breath, all upon a harlequin mask of white.

"Wrong!"

He began shaking her with such force that her head began to flail back and forth.

Ami screamed.

-------

Hotaru watched the outside world with cool detachment. For some reason she felt lethargic, tired. She had showered and dressed in fresh clothes and now stood in the wind, a mug of hot chocolate in her small hands. The night air was fresh but did little to invigorate her.

She still felt tired. But aside from that, she had questions. Searching for her own clothing she had stumbled into one of the bedrooms. One that looked recently used. Several towels lay on the floor and the bed was dishevelled. The curtains were closed, all light dim and stifled like the air. On top of that there was a scent, of stale sweat and musky fever.

More confusing was the fact that several items of clothing hung from the chair backs. A man's clothing.

Hotaru pondered this for sometime on the balcony. She had caught Setsuna mention something as she was drifting in and out of sleep in Haruka's lap on the evening of Usagi's birthday. It was a conversation she recognised, the serious, save the world type of thing that got her really serious and brooding, like when time was being played with. But if this he was a threat, why harbour him here? Why not dust him, as Usagi would put it?

Hotaru turned to enter the apartment and was greeted by Setsuna standing before her, in clothing similar to Hotaru's own, black jeans and thick sweater that matched her eyes.

"Hello little one."

Hotaru smiled and rushed into Setsuna's arms.

"So you knew?" Setsuna asked.

"How could I not, you're my big sister!"

A tear blossomed in the corner of Setsuna's eye but didn't move.

"Come, we must make ready." Reluctantly said, as much as it was.

-------

Ami sat bolt upright, startling the old woman next to her with her sudden movement. She rubbed her cheek and when no blood came away, she relaxed, resting down into her chair.

The intercom sounded, the pilot's voice vibrating through the cabin. "Good morning, please fasten your seatbelts as we will be landing in Helvetica momentarily. Please return service trays to the upright position and extinguish all cigarettes."

There was a pause, as the stewards looked about, confused. All domestic and international airline flights were now by law, smokefree.

The Captain's voice came over again, although slightly muffled, "Damnit Robert, I said put it out!" There was some muted scuffling and what sounded like a smack, followed by an insincere "Sorry, Darrell."

The captain coughed and removed his hand from the microphone. "We will be landing in five minutes time, enjoy your stay," and with that the intercom went dead.

Ami fastened her seatbelt and moved her tray up as she tidied herself for arrival. Whatever had just passed up front didn't put much confidence in her of the crew's abilities, In fact she pinched herself to check if she was still dreaming. Satisfied she was now fully awake she tried to mentally prepare herself for what was to come.. The old woman seated beside Ami watched the young woman out the corner of her eye, a red eye.

-------

Michiru walked slowly through the quiet mansion; Haruka closeted in her more often than not, unused bedroom, Hotaru with Setsuna.

The turquoise beauty was haggard, her beautiful face flushed and drawn; tear tracks making her seem years older.

She opened the large stainless steel refrigerator and grasped a bottle of water. Closing the door she jumped as the reflection in the metal startled her, clad in dark seifuku and unexpected.

"Setsuna, I didn't hear you come in."

"No, considering I didn't"

Oh this was great, thought Michiru, rolling her eyes. Double-talk at midnight after a trying day with a woman whose concept of time is not so much what time but when time.

Pluto rested the Time Staff against the counter and walked to Michiru. Taking the water Pluto moved it to the counter top and embraced the younger woman. With a single touch, tears that had been dry sprung forth anew.

Hotaru watched all this from the hallway, where Pluto had 'dropped her off', her eyes moist as she realised what was happening. Anger could wait, and thus not be wasted.

She turned and strode meaningfully, muttering alternate curse words and verbal exercises to focus her mind. A specifically punctuated sentence - "Saturn Crystal Power" - resulted in a flurry of shadow and stars and Sailor Saturn stood in midstride where Tomoe Hotaru had been seconds before.

-------

Haruka lay quiet, curled on the bed in a fetal position, her knees under her chin with the grey sweat-suit around her more like a blanket than an item of clothing. Her blue eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the wall, her back to the large ranch slider that dominated one side of the room. She could not fathom what had happened. She loved Michiru, that much at least she was sure of, with her she felt complete, a part of something better than she could ever hope to achieve alone.

Why was this persistent inclination pounding her, that it was wrong, that she was defunct, undeserving of any love whatsoever, male or female, friend or lover. In her drive to be accepted she had become anathema.

She squeezed her eyes shut. These thoughts weren't her own, she knew this yet she couldn't ignore them, and they were constantly there with each breath, there with each motion.

Ever since the incident in the car.

And when she hit that thought, the doubts began all over again.

The thoughts and endless cycle did stop however when the wall fell in, dust and plaster clouding the air.

Haruka stood, focusing her confusion into her anger at being disturbed and she stood on guard, ready to strike or berate any who dared interrupt her grief. It was a struggle to remain composed when the thoughts assaulted her anew.

The drama of the entrance was broken by a cough as the dust cleared and Saturn cleared her throat. She wasn't any taller on the top of the wall's remains but it did look impressive.

"Have you quite finished moping?"

Haruka flushed, and opened her mouth to speak, her face tight with rage, when the Silence Glaive materialized in Hotaru's hand and gleamed ominously in the moonlight creeping through the ranch slider.

"We don't have time for that shit now, we need to get going and put this behind us."

Haruka clicked onto the imperialistic tone and didn't like it. Yet she could now, the thoughts being less prominent, feel that they were not alone, the others most likely both Setsuna and Michiru. Michiru, her better half, the white to her black. She broke off that train of thought as the need to curl up got stronger.

Hotaru glared at Haruka, hoping that her forced bravado would topple the indomitable Uranus, and hopefully piss her off enough to put aside her doubts and whatever else had caused this, the influence of the enemy.

"Remind me to ground you later." Haruka muttered darkly, while contemplating whether spanking her would be misinterpreted by society.

-------

Ami walked slowly out of the Medical University of Helvetica, struggling with her emotions. The key was to maintain the facade of disappointment. Hide her true feelings. Whatever they had scanned in Minako had shown up on her.

-------

She had exited the plane and made her way to the nearest restroom as fast as possible. The plane had felt uncomfortable and she needed to be away from it. After tidying herself up, she transformed and leapt out of the skylight, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the shadows of the ancient architecture and strategic landings amid cornices, hiding her from prying eyes.

Crouched atop the roof of one of the dormitories, her own in fact, near to the campus, Mercury recalled her transformation and entered the halls. Quiet haunted the halls, as it was the middle of the morning, class in session. Entering her room, it was precisely as she left it, no problems there. The dorm room was a simple affair, a bed, desk, beer fridge (minus the beer quotient) a few posters and an over filled bookshelf occupying a large portion of the wall that didn't have a window.

The mini computer was out of her tesseract pocket mere seconds after the door was firmly closed. Ami lay on the bed to compose her thoughts while her hardwired friend composed a complete bio scan on her down to a molecular level taking into account any nega-energy or the magical derivative that had been isolated in Minako.

Some five minutes later and a mental recitation of pieces of certain psychology texts, the Silver Millennium computer chirped its completion.

The realisation that had sunk in after Ami had departed the plane was confirmed. A similar anomaly existed in her also, and being the scientific, inquiring individual she was, she contacted the only person likely to know more about it than her. Setsuna. While the Senshi Of Time had seemed slightly miffed at being disturbed, she was very intrigued to learn what Ami had uncovered and as such had minutes later, ported into Ami's dormitory and sat quietly at the foot of the bed while Ami outlined what she had discovered.

Pluto had taken it all in and nodded at the appropriate points, before informing Ami she was already aware of it.

-------

"What!" Ami almost choked.

"As I said, after our initial success with Minako I was able to pinpoint the exact cause. It is a demonic energy technique, that much I know for certain. This technique brings the victims fears and paranoia to the surface, where in turn, they react to external stimuli that the demon or spell caster manipulates. The fear and increased responses to it feed a power sink from which the demon can draw soul energy, which is pure concentrated essence. Drawing this is more effective and sustaining than the simple life energy that youma draw and soul energy will not just exhaust the victim but eventually kill them. It also allows the demon to evolve into a stronger form."

Ami was, to put it mildly, flabbergasted.

Setsuna looked at her and continued. "It is as Naydar related, a fairly straight forward demon practice, breaking the soul, claiming it and then killing the victim."

"I don't believe in demons."

"Ami," Pluto said in a swift, understanding voice, "you are one of the most intelligent people I have ever known but you are remarkably narrow-minded. Demons are like youma, beings from another plane of existence, another universe living next door to ours, through the veil of life and death, being and not being."

Ami shuddered.

-------

And leaving the office this played through her head, the pain of failure on the surface of her mind as Setsuna had instructed, the satisfaction that she had both foiled the demon and retained her place at the university vying for equal place in her private heart.

Ami stopped and sat quietly on a nearby bench. Almost immediately, another person sat beside her, and Ami turned to look at Setsuna. On outward appearance the older woman looked hurt and worn, the brown leather jacket faded, her black jeans and green shirt wrinkled. Her hair was tied up in a loose ponytail and a sad smile was on her face.

Ami was inwardly puzzled, but played along. She turned to Setsuna and began to cry, leaning against her shoulder. Setsuna reached an arm around Ami and seconds later unbeknownst to most all, were gone.

The old woman feeding the pigeons on the far side of the square noticed, in fact, that was all she noticed, her eyes flashing a malevolent red before she too disappeared, her shawl falling to the bench.

A pigeon shat on it.

-------

**DISCLAIMERS**

Chapter Ten

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Down With The Sickness by Disturbed from the album The Sickness is copyright Giant Records and WB Music Corporation. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Eleven

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. With Arms Wide Open by Creed from the album Human Clay is copyright Wind Up Entertainment, Epic Records and Sony Music. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Twelve

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Burn by The Cure is copyright Fiction Records and Warner Music. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Thirteen

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Blurry by Puddle Of Mudd from the album Come Clean is copyright Interscope Records and UMG Recording. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.


	5. Part 03

**EVEN FLOW**

R E V E R S I O N E D

A BISHOJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON Fan Fiction

By Nicholas Clark (Warriorsong)

_Comprising the original fan fictions Even Flow Chapter 14 - Interlude Setsuna, Chapter 15 – Backlash, Chapter 16 - Sugilite Ascendant, Age Begets Wisdom and Even Flow Chapter 17 - Glimpses_

**3. LINES OF BATTLE, STREAMS OF TIME**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**INTERLUDE SETSUNA**

_"Time to take her home_

_Her dizzy head is conscience laden_

_Time to wait too long, to wait too long_

_These conversations kill"_

_Stone Temple Pilots - "Big Empty" - The Crow OST Album_

-------

"Do you wish to go back now? Are you ready? I ask for it is necessary and you must return only of your own free will. No one can demand this of you."

It echoed, throughout the quiet reality that had built itself around her, disturbed only by her and made solely for her, no outsiders, no nightmares, just her and her own self. And any demons she brought with it.

"Do you wish to go back now? Are you ready?"

-------

As she dematerialised her fuku and stepped over the rim of the bathtub, sinking gently into the warm water her mind simply wanted peace, no more remembrances.

A single tear crept down her cheek and fell into the tub, lonely and lost amidst the steam and the flow.

-------

Rough, clawing like a knife digging into a tough steak, the hand grabbed her hair, pulling with a strength that defied logic, hurting her, and startling her wake, the warm soapy liquid caught in her throat, her lungs, burning her eyes, her chest and stinging like a chokehold.

The rough grip loosened as she felt reality rush up to meet her, the tactile sense of her bare breast's slamming against the cold linoleum, electrifying her with its chill. She retched, coughed and vomited the milky water and bile onto the bathroom tile; curling into a ball and covering her nakedness from eyes that she could feel take her in.

Her body rocked as she purged herself, the dry raw sensation grounding her in pain and foggy memories.

Across her, it fell, the warm cotton, terry cloth that was a robe, its corners trailing in the water soaking it up. Her hair, wet and limp, fanned out matted and tangled beside her.

Consciousness slipped away.

-------

Tears, she awoke to tears, dim light she did not want to see all around her and the pain in her heart tearing at her like a thousand hooks.

A hand, gentle and unobtrusive, reached out to her, pulling her into an embrace that spoke of understanding and acceptance.

Tears fell from both sets of eyes. One head against the chest in pain, sobs of agony and centuries of grief flowing free, the damn broken, the other in tears of sympathy and remembered pain.

"I'll go now then."

The one who had brought Setsuna into the hug, released a hand, waving at the third figure, which then turned and left the room. The arm and hand returned to Setsuna's back, the other hand slowly petting her hair, easing it into some semblance of order while still offering comfort.

Time passed and tears quieted, time passed and tears flowed anew.

Time and tears are akin, all water, the flow is never stopped; only interrupted.

-------

Time as we know it, seconds, minutes and hours is a human concept, a measure set by man for man, an understanding created for a larger bracket of being, a manageable unit in a larger whole.

These bigger units, a year; the orbit of the sun, the month; the moons cycle of our planet, the day; the rotation of our planet on its axis, mean nothing to the universe and reality. It is from a perspective, from that of humans, terrans, the people of the planet we call Earth.

Perspective dictates reality. On a planet far from a star, with a heavier mass; an orbit, a day, these are different and therefore different to what we perceive. An inhabitant of that world would if like minded to our race, perceive our day as a mere fleeting moment.

Time, at it's core, is the degradation of atomic matter. Yet this is affected by gravity, pressure and its surrounding environs.

This reality, this perception, that time is relative, different to all and yet to one being in particular, the same all consuming entity. Time is nothing but what it is made of it. People and life, trials and tribulations, triumphs and tragedies, are what matter.

Imagine watching these events, these small drama's that mean all to a being and define their universes, millions of realities in a single existence. Watching them, but never ever tasting the sweet elixir, the occurrence of life that many take for granted and always, always being concerned with time.

A thing which means nothing.

Validate that as an existence, this stewardship, hiding behind the fact that serving others and ensuring certain events occur, events that are key, the scope that they play on, time, not being more than dead air between acts of a cosmic play. Hiding behind doing something important when you feel you are doing nothing but watching.

And nothing, doing nothing, being nothing, is a harder task than being someone, being anyone.

-------

The ability to be everywhere at once, watch over everything, learn everything, and see everything is a hollow comparison, empty and dead to the joy and fire one can taste of it, one chance of being, it gives the soul, electrifying it and sending it into a climax of life.

Once everything is learnt, nothing is a surprise; all things can be rationalized and explained, based on knowledge or extrapolation.

Once everything is seen, the eyes become blind, the sense useless as nothing is new, the rich technicolour tapestry becoming a greyscale before it turns to black.

Once everything is tasted, nothing can be tasted anew as all foods become stale and foul.

Once everything is heard, the sound of a baby's cry is just static rather than the triumphant cry at taking the first breath of existence.

Once everything is touched, tactile sensation numbs.

Once all words have been spoken all that is left is silence.

And then it is silence forever, a castle of darkness, absent of all save the fact you know you are there but are nothing, sensing nothing, in a universe of nothing.

Nothing.

-------

Setsuna Meioh cried into the shoulder of the figure that held her, time having lost all meaning, centuries having passed or only seconds. Even now, being allowed to be somewhere and be something, her curse continued to haunt her.

"Ignore it Setsuna, it doesn't mean anything. It is nothing, just the death of atoms."

Setsuna's tear began to fall again. The death of atoms are nothing yet atoms are everything. A conundrum, an endless loop, infinity, an ouroboros, the Midgard serpent; Jormungandr, grown so large it must consume itself to continue to grow, death and life combined, existing on a equal footing.

The same yet different, different yet the same.

Nothing is everything, yet everything is nothing.

Creation.

Setsuna cried herself into a fitful sleep, the comforting arms never leaving her, the warm presence of understanding and acceptance next to her.

-------

Silence is there at the beginning and the end, and in doubt, pain and loss it exists in the middle, consuming all, yet eating nothing.

The other had been with her for all the time, the tears and the silence and would be for all the times to come.

Now was a time to think, not to watch, listen or see. A time to think, to simply be and let the mind order and catalogue, chaos and tear down.

The other seemed unconcerned that Setsuna said no word of thanks, spoke little at all. The other was there, whatever reality she heralded from on hiatus, suspended until she was willing to return. Her readiness was Setsuna's readiness.

Setsuna wasn't ready.

Yet the hand on her shoulder, the arms to cry in remained unjudgemental.

-------

How long had her silence lasted, the chill time when all senses were neglected and comfort was merely the half perceived presence of the other, the casual aura of being and acceptance and love?

When had the rage began; the destruction, wholesale, the senses assaulting her in a tumult, the surroundings battering her mind with unwanted information, and her violent out-letting of centuries of anger and frustration, devastation raining down upon her perceived reality, all falling under her gaze and all falling under her might, power unleashed as nature, hers and that of creation seen unfit.

The other looked on, the comfort still there and the understanding.

Setsuna had rallied her rage at the other then; words and fists; kicks and powers flaring like a solar storm, hot and intense. The other had taken all with grace, bruises and blisters aside, the power being absorbed or negated.

But still, injured and hurt by Setsuna, the other offered her arms in comfort when the tears began again.

-------

And then Setsuna awoke. She rolled over, the arms that comforted her were gone, the bed cold. Embraces and comfort from her nightmares and it was gone with no word. Setsuna sat up, the sheets falling from her.

And as simple as that one analogy, she knew it had passed.

The cotton t-shirt and shorts were dry, un-drenched by the nightmare-induced hallucinations and fear that had rocked her soul. Satisfaction lighted upon her and she fell back to the mattress, her body and mind at peace and at rest.

The other watched from her place apart. She shook her black green hair and smiled. Quietly and slowly, so as not to disturb the sleeper, Setsuna returned to whence she had came.

-------

How many days had passed in her sleep of regrowth, her body and mind healing in sleep the scars of her breakdown?

She had lain awake for some time, staring at the ceiling and learning from the revelations that had come to her during her melancholia.

Shaking off the dregs of sleep that threatened to claim her she left the comfort of the bed and went to the window, taking the time, the life, to look upon the outside world.

Far out it stretched, rolling hills and rocky crags, deep vegetation and the calls of the wild animals echoing throughout. It was breathtaking, raw and uncultured; an unstructured beauty that spoke to her inner self of the magnificence that lack of control could cause.

Lack of control and the dropping of all pretences. She could hear the wolves chasing down their prey, the howls of victory as they feasted. Pretences to be dropped, nature wasn't beautiful, nature just was. And in that lay its beauty.

Smiling, Setsuna turned and exited the room that had been her solitude, thick oak and massive stone, coarse wool blankets and soft cotton sheets, sheepskin rugs on the floor and a roaring fire in the hearth.

Fire.

Setsuna entered the adjoining room, a warm stone box with a large heavy iron window. A huge brass tub, oils on a shelf and thick towels lined one side of the room and a brazier, red coals smoking, sat in the corner beside the door. A bench sat along the side opposite the window.

Setsuna smiled and stoked the coals, before sitting down. Quietly she began to undress.

-------

The door to the bathhouse opened and Setsuna exited, a thick towel around her body, another adorning her head. The smell of sausages and eggs, thick strips of bacon and freshly baked bread and perked coffee, danced under her nostrils. The large open space opposite the bedchamber housed a large oak table and several high-backed chairs. One such chair was occupied, Setsuna nodded at the chairs occupant and they indicated that Setsuna be seated.

Setsuna sat, totally at ease with the other person even though she was merely wearing a towel. The food called to her stomach which replied with a low growl. The other smiled as Setsuna began to eat.

The other watched Setsuna, carefully. The other knew, felt in her heart, that she, Setsuna, was herself again but it needed to be ascertained before she could return to whence she had came.

"How are you?" the other asked, waiting for Setsuna to eat and drink for some time.

"Better, thank you. I take it that you took care of things."

"Yes, we weighed the options and thought that perhaps if we carried things on rather than dropping you back in it, you would be able to get clearance."

"Thank you, I think that you are right."

"Of course I am."

Setsuna grinned at the other her seated opposite, "Oh course, why wouldn't you be?"

The other Setsuna nodded. "I suppose you would like to know what happened while you were gone?"

"Of course," replied Setsuna, "but for now, shall we just eat and chat. After all we have all the time in the world."

The other Setsuna smiled and motioned Setsuna towards the kitchen area where the coffeepot was, still hot. Setsuna smiled and nodded and both women gathered the necessary pieces of crockery and condiments before mounting a small stairway set against the wall.

"I should probably get dressed first though," mentioned the younger.

"Quite," said the elder.

-------

The events since Setsuna left had been related by the other, the elder Setsuna, in depth and as detailed as could be remembered (which is to say, concise and exactly to the point, at least as far as the younger knew). Setsuna had the inclination to return and see for herself but at present the past was too vivid in her memory. The other nodded as she thought this. Chances were Setsuna would not return until she was her counterpart. The other continued nodding.

"Stop it!" she snapped at her older self who just grinned in reply and sipped her coffee

Setsuna looked out from the balcony they sat upon, in reality, the top of a small squat tower located in the middle of nowhere, most likely also in the middle of nowhen. It was ironic in the tragic way of the universe that she had suffered her breakdown when she had. The plan of this 'Fell Queen', Crius spoke off had most likely entered into play very soon after her arrival in the timeline. Setsuna was unconcerned with that for the meantime. If all indications were to be taken into account, the enemy was most definitely youma, possibly altered in some way. Getting at the Senshi via their deepest fears he had managed to claim all except Ami, as far as her other knew.

"I take it that Usagi is unaffected? The demon probably took into account the fact she would have the Silver Crystal in her possession and it would protect her and now that Mamoru has been granted power over the Golden Crystal, he too is unaffected."

The other looked concerned at this and interrupted, "Yes, but Usagi was quite a mess when Minako was in her catatonia and I believe that it is likely they seek to undermine her through her friends."

Setsuna the younger nodded, "Her big heart. And if Usagi is affected Mamoru is at risk."

The older nodded. It pained her however that she may never come to be. The timestream had diverged as soon as Crius and the threat from the future had arrived and if events continued to move away from the path she had experienced, her memories would fade to be replaced with new ones, and depending on the outcome, the future could go either way. Her memories meant nothing now, they were just pencils on the page of time, and the ink was never likely to enscribe them.

Setsuna the younger looked to her older self. They - she - had been aware of the risks since the beginning of it all and second thoughts now were useless. The younger moved to her older self and knelt beside her, embracing her.

"I understand how you feel, and I am sad for me, for us, because I quite like you."

The older laughed and the younger stood and sat beside her, rather than her position previously, across from her.

The older sat quietly and the younger Setsuna waited until a comfortable silence had passed. Finally the younger spoke, "And this soul drain, please explain it to me again, I'm not as old and wise as you. Plus demons haven't ventured to the Earth plane for millennia, and the knowledge at best from the wars is sketchy."

The older Setsuna cast the younger a dirty look before proceeding:

"True, they haven't ventured the boundaries by edict for eons. Essentially the process is a demonic feeding process, like youma and their life force feeding. The demonic equivalent, if you will. It brings fears and paranoia to the surface, to the front of the conscious mind where it can easily react to external stimuli manipulated by the demon. The fact they are directly involved is like a hunting pattern, toying with their prey, proving they are superior. The fear and increased responses triggered by the stimuli are then leeched into a power sink from which the demon can draw soul energy, which is the victim's pure concentrated essence, their true self. Drawing this is more effective and sustaining than the simple life energy that youma draw and soul energy will not just exhaust the victim but eventually kill them, while providing the demon a means to evolve into a stronger form."

Setsuna looked at her other, taking it in verbatim, questions leaping around her mind.

"The soul energy you describe, lack of it kills the victim. Is it similar to Soulstones and Starseeds?"

"No, but they are related in a sense," the other replied, "Soulstones are a misinterpretation, the name is misleading, and Starseeds doesn't make any sense at all. Soulstones are the exact same thing as Starseeds however. When a person dies, their soul leaves their body. The Starseed is the point of flux between the spiritual realm and the physical realm, it merely acts as an anchor to the soul, its destruction, letting the soul fly free. When a demon devours a soul, it is literal, they actually feast upon it, the creature consumes the spiritual energy, and the physical body is left vacant and dies. Its a three way street, if any part of the equation is missing, soul, body or seed, death occurs. If the seed or body goes the persons soul can move on, if the soul is devoured, they will suffer an eternity of torment."

Setsuna had paled considerably, but remained calm, "What about Crius? Surely he doesn't match the seed of the body he inhabits?"

"No he doesn't and Starseed is a loose phrase, it's a perception based anomaly. In reality it is simply the binding of the soul to the body. Galaxia was able to bring forth a representation of it, and due to the fact you are Senshi, you were able to see it manifested."

"So the Starseed is the soul residue, the part that remains with the body even in death. The base proponent. The soul you speak of is the higher self, the form used in astral projection."

The other Setsuna smiled as it sunk in. "Correct and due to various factors, both magical, temporal and mental, Crius was able to find a host in the form of Jack Argusson. His deduction, that he is in possession of the body, is in fact, quite astute."

The younger seemed pleased with herself "And even though he is below power, he still wants to get involved? And he informed you of the drain in Minako?"

"He is intent on getting involved which is why I'm here, other than the great coffee and fine conversation." The elder Setsuna said it with a completely straight face. "However, his getting involved could be problematic, and the fact that things are coming to a head dictated that I come and see you. If I go back and things change in the timestream, I could cease to be totally, in the worst case scenario, or be incapacitated for a short time at best."

The youngster's mouth had moved into a tight line, "And by rights, if the Senshi are made aware, the drains will cease to be, their power broken?"

"Yes, if it is a youma doing it, even if they are enhanced in some way they will most definitely be unable to withstand the backlash of their will being throw back at them and at best it will leave him in a rage. Even a demon would be hard pressed to withstand the combined might of several Senshi, unless of course they were a demon lord."

Both quieted at this. By ancient accord, demon lords could not leave their plane unless summoned directly by a powerful spell caster. More often than not the demon lord would send a follower and the summoner would end up a sticky paste on the walls, the arch fiend having deemed a human master as below them. To both Setsuna's current knowledge, it had happened only once. And that was long before magic had died, so to speak.

"Good, then maybe we should see to this. I do have a question though."

"Yes, child?" replied the older, digging at her for the old remark.

"It was you, wasn't it, the one who was with me?" A flick backwards of her head indicating the tower below.

Yes, the elder simply nodded and the younger self of Setsuna Meioh, placed her hand over that of her older self.

"And you wish to go back now? Are you ready?"

"Yes," the younger replied, her voice hard and her stance prepared.

**Chapter Fifteen**

**BACKLASH**

_"So you think you'll take another piece of me_

_To satisfy you're intellectual_

_Do you want, do you want action?_

_Gonna bring you down cos your pushing me_

_You gotta recognise my superiority"_

_Def Leppard - "Action" - Retro Active_

-------

Mamoru stood in the darkness of the increasing dusk. The leaves here didn't respect Rei's broom. This courtyard was at the back of the main shrine buildings, set back in the thicker trees and rock gardens, amidst large gutting slabs of prehistoric granite.

On the bright side, it was a wide expanse of nature in the centre of a bustling metropolis, holy ground, which everyone assumed was an extension of some shogunate fiefdom or whatever.

The fact that it was earth, his earth, rich brown and succulent green was ideal for him. He was still dealing with what had happened to him, his awakening, and his rebirth. He knew now that he was an extension of the planet, its avatar, just as the Senshi were to their respective planets and gods.

The earth sang to him, breathing its hymn to him through the leylines that converged beneath his feet, in the centre of this courtyard, it's hard packed and scuffed, yet captivating cobbles adding a sense of timeless peace.

Almost directly in the centre of the Hikawa Reserve, Mamoru stood and felt the waves wash over him. Deeply breathing with his eyes closed, he didn't notice the roses blushing forth in his palms until the feathery touch of their petals kissed his callused palms.

He opened his eyes and nodded to the darkness off by the right side of the main path. The forms of two cats, one midnight blue, the other silvery white, broke from the shadows and trotted up the path.

-------

The flames in Azel's disparate reality flickered, all flames, eight in total, raging, their angry tongues vehemently pointed at the figure within their circle.

Azel himself sat within the centre of the sphere of flames. The trails of fire that lashed at him curled off at a tangent as they broke against the field of raw cosmic energy that surrounded him like a superimposed aura.

Vivid magenta, cold purple, celestial orange. Bright red, electric green, dusky yellow. Oceanic turquoise and ice blue.

All burned, their lives fanned by the doubts, fears and despairs of their sources and spurred on by the demonic wind that was Azel's presence.

Azel's body writhed, yet remained still, his veins ignited with a spiritual fire, soaking it up like water as he drank deep of the essences of the Sailor Senshi.

-------

Like mirrors like.

The back courtyard of the Hikawa Shrine mirrored the grim nether. Not in any physical sense. Metaphysically the alignment just seemed to fit. Like a cookie cutter the Senshi assumed the relative positions of their soul flames. Heads were bowed collectively as the words of a long dead, long forgotten language fell from Setsuna's mouth.

Ami wondered at the tongue, a musical dialect, but harsh and guttural. A language the ears rejected and the mind balked at.

As though the dimensional reflection was slightly distorted, the octagon of flames was replaced, in our world, with a decagon; new facets of colour on a brilliant cut jewel. One facet was a silvery white, that of a ghostly moon, the other, an earthy gold, that of the sun baked sand.

Usagi and Mamoru stood back on either side of Setsuna, each with a hand upon her shoulders.

No words had been spoken by any since they had mounted the stairs and gathered loosely on the cobbles. Tension was as air, all around and infused with every breath.

Setsuna had arrived, stepping to a clear space, Ami a step behind, somewhat startled looking. Both looked at their friends, their eyes meeting for split seconds before passing them by.

Mamoru had spoken first, his tone authoritative and with a steel akin to that of a sword. Sharp and deadly, yet protective.

"Stand in a circle." Setsuna, Hotaru and Minako. Rei, Makoto and Haruka. Michiru and Amy.

All complied. Usagi and Mamoru standing apart and back from their circle of friends, her small hand clutched tightly in his.

Then the chant had begun, all heads bowed.

Slowly, halfway through the sense defying mantra, Mamoru and Usagi placed themselves alongside Setsuna.

And as the chant stopped like a gong echoing in their skulls, muttering, coherent sentences garbled by the ten voices, the characteristic ribbons of light dancing across the holy place like festive streamers.

Setsuna then spoke, all heads still bowed, as the cavorting colours subsided.

"Summon all your power, pull it into you, draw the essence of your namesake."

Bodies tensed as they drew upon the raw power. At the centre of the circle, the air shimmered, marbles of plasma appearing, swirling with the colour of their summoner.

Triggered, the spell grew as power was summoned and pumped into the orbs by the ancient magicks. The orbs expanded to the size of billiard balls, almost bursting with the latent magical potential.

A larger milky gold sheen appeared as the form of Endymion and Serenity joined the spell, his armour gleaming back, pinpoints of gold spiralling in the murky depths. Serenity's gown sparkled, dew like silver beading its lustrous fabric.

The milky golden wash folded over into itself, growing faster than the rest, enveloping the eight smaller globes in one larger.

Slowly the power built, each Senshi drawing upon powers they never imagined they possessed and tapping reserves uncomprehended. Funnelling these powers by sheer will; amplified by the ancient spell into the conduit.

Growing and growing, sweat formed and bodies shook, tensed with a phenomenal potential.

And when the strain made them sag, Serenity and Endymion, apart from the main spell, merely anchors to the physical realm, shouted out, a word unremembered, three times, directly into the heavens.

The sky shuddered.

Reality's heart skipped a beat.

And then from eight equidistant points on the horizon, colours exploded, dying the black canvas of the sky with translucent glory.

Comets, an octet, arched from the horizons and in a split second, slammed into the milky gold sphere, puncturing its liquid surface with determination, ripples fighting against each other as the droplets popped and the comets each plunged into a sphere of the corresponding power.

Each sphere grew, the influx of energy ripening the orbs, and pregnant with this energy, they flew home.

Directly into the abdomen of their host Senshi.

-------

Naydar stopped. His feet were bare and spread apart, his shirt off on the floor behind him. He blew his hair out of his eyes.

His concentration had been jarred; his drawing on his powers, his birthright, disturbed. Disturbed that is, even more then the fact his current body could not harness the energies without injury and danger to his continued existence.

The edges of his vision wrinkled, fraying at the corners as the spell climaxed in all its glory.

His senses came back like a train wreck, slamming into him and driving him to his knees, gasping.

The nausea vanished as quickly as it had arrived, leaving Naydar with an acidic taste in his mouth and a leaden feeling in his stomach.

"Well shit," he said, righting himself to stand on both feet again.

Like flaking paint, the parts of his costume still on him disappeared, falling to the ground and dissolving in a static charge, leaving him, as Jack, clad in cut off track pants, his slowly increasing mass covered with a sheen of sweat. Focusing on the unseen distance, Naydar didn't see the body of his host, Jack Argusson, was now flabby, the once lank frame overfilled with food and drink in an effort to power the soul machine within.

At his unspoken mental prompt Jack recalled his 'uniform', clean yet incomplete. That would be amended however.

His baggy black pants were tucked into his calf high boots, his grey Lycra t-shirt under the unblemished white of his silk shirt. The blue belt sash come cummerbund completed the much loathed pirate image.

Slowly his thick combat boots crunching on the training impaired concrete; pockmarked and pitted, he walked to his coffee table workshop and grabbed his holster, pulling it around his waist and fastening it, his midsection now two strips of blue centred with one of black.

Naydar pulled the large silver pistol from its leather bed and released the magazine. Checking that the special gravity enhanced bullets were loaded, he checked the safety was on and clicked the magazine home before placing the gun back behind him.

The couch to his side had his new coat draped over the back, its long black tails broken by two thick swaths of blue which merged and terminated under the folded collar, giving the impression of an inverted "V".

His blue gloved hands, unchanged since his arrival, moved into the outside pockets of his coat, after he had shrugged it on, its weight lighter than it would normally be, thanks to some gravity tweaking. From these pockets one hand emerged with a blue bandana, the other with a yellow lensed pair of wrap around sunglasses.

Tying the bandana behind his neck, Naydar pulled the cloth up, the base of its triangle shape covering his nose and mouth, its tapered point sitting near his upper sternum. His right index finger slowly caressed the material, his mind wandering momentarily.

The sunglasses he slid over his pale blue eyes, the yellow glass distorting their colour.

He ran his hands through his longish blonde hair and turned on his heel; his boots echoing across the concrete and his voice echoing across the space he had just vacated.

"Mr. Nasty, evil and sly, hurt the girls and made them cry, when the boys came out to play, Mr. Nasty, something, something, something, die."

Crius had never been one to boast his lacklustre literary skills. I didn't bother him. The joking hid a fear he wouldn't admit even to himself. That in all possibility, he could die tonight.

-------

As the comets of energy slammed into the Senshi, it brought things with it, an awareness and an experience.

Most emphatic was the experience, a half-dreamed, half-lived consciousness of the entire time their soul flames had been under Azel's perverted dominion; terror, rage, agony, fear and a burning compulsion towards revenge.

Slowly like a flower opening was this awareness, that they contained powers of a nature that their minds could scarcely comprehend or accept, that they were in a sense a personification of the forces that they represented.

In that split second of contact, a mere instant, all this was conveyed and like the bounds of causality were buckled, the eight Senshi involved flew backwards, carried by the force of impact, crashing through nature and architecture alike.

-------

The nature of reality is, in essence, pretty simple.

The rule of three covers it quite nicely.

Life, death and rebirth; order, chaos and balance.

Good, evil and neutral; white, black and grey.

Of course, this includes not forgetting all the intermediaries between them. The third cannot exist without the other two, just as they themselves cannot exist without their opposite.

Often, quick as thought, it can change, its polarities flipping and dealing the fates another hand.

They can either occur naturally or unnaturally.

Change is the only real constant, which in itself seems like a big joke, but really, it makes about as much sense as anything else.

-------

Take this event for example, the fabric of reality warping and peeling, its edges floating away like paper from a fire, crumbling in the wind.

In the night sky it may have gone unnoticed, even if the forethought into the event was rather jumbled, which is understandably so in this case. But the event in question was noticed, being some twenty feet off the ground and in the middle of downtown Tokyo.

-------

Change is the only constant, to change you must evolve and grow, past what you were and become something new.

Newer, stronger, wiser yet tempered, compromised and amalgamated with what has come before.

A man named Murphy is often quoted in regards to unexpected change..

"Shit happens."

-------

Minako rolled over. The massive overload of energy, her soul nectar returning, had lit her mind up like a candle, awakening parts of her she had never seen or been aware of. Some scared her, some delighted her, and all of it frightened her. Then gone, with a blink of her mind's eye, closed to her, all that was left was an electric tingle over her body like a spiritual orgasm.

Through the haze, pain and disorientation of white light and the afterglow of the return, she could feel wetness on her face.

It was almost a new experience but quickly it became a discomfort.

Minako coughed, bringing herself harshly back to reality. She groaned once awake, the tingling of her limbs turning to full blown pain, wrapping her in intense bands of agony.

Warm hands touched her face, gently caressing her cheek.

The voice was mumbled, seemingly incoherent to her distorted senses.

"Relax, Lady Aino, you've had a busy night."

Minako's eyes opened to the voice. It was deep and rich but not overly so, the emotion plainer to her than the spoken words.

She knew this voice from a dream away, a time, barely a week ago, that was foggy in her mind.

Her unfocused vision caught the shape, blurred and dulled in the night, blues and blacks.

Minako sat up and pushed the hair from her eyes, the damp bangs stuck to her forehead. She fingered her side, tender and damp, her white shirt clinging to her in the damp of both the dew and her sweat. Her top clung most to the side she had been lying on, the moisture on the grass and pressure of her prone body molding it to the shape of her breast.

She blushed and looked to the leaves and brush where the decidedly male figure had disappeared.

Slowly, once she was sure that she was alone, she climbed to her feet and started off through the broken branches and trellis that lead to the courtyard. That would explain the bruising she felt on her side.

So lost in the contemplation of side and damage, she failed to notice the faint eerie glow that permeated the glen where she had lain, illuminating it in a radius from where she had been lying, unconscious.

An illumination that followed after her slowly like a jets contrail.

-------

Rei screamed, the wail tearing through her mindscape like a brushfire.

The blood within felt like it was on fire, boiling her internal organs, like she was some sort of pressure cooker. It moved up her body, the burning heat radiating from her chest and coursing through her veins like quicksilver.

As it, the rolling furnace of agony hit her throat, she gasped for air, the heat frying the blessed oxygen the instant it reached her lungs.

Rei flung herself up with a choked cry, her hands reaching for her throat as she retched.

The cool air, crisp and damp in the twilight caused her to open her eyes.

Slowing her breathing she sat, her legs thrust out spread-eagled, her robes bunched above her knees and her skin strangely warm in the night air.

Moving her hands from her throat lightly, she could feel the tangles in her long hair and smell the burnt fibres of wool.

She shook her head, her hair flailing back and forth gently as she fought down the nausea.

She could see the frayed and charred edges of her cloak and the blackened grass that lay around her, the scorched earth beneath.

Untangling her legs from her shrine robe she stumbled to her feet and began to follow the trail of ash through the undergrowth.

-------

Makoto could feel the white-hot spikes of lightening dancing across her eyelids. Pulsing like unrestrained voltage, it, the power, coursed through her body.

Slowly through the murk of unconscious stupor, reality gained a handhold and she opened her eyes. The chill air and dark, star speckled sky were a welcome change from the white luminescence that had but moments ago, washed over her like an astral storm.

Makoto pondered her present situation. It seemed that in her rather frazzled state, one of two things had happened. The first was that either she had fallen over and was now lying on her back, or two, the sky had moved from above to sideways. The first seemed more likely, and was confirmed as her tactile senses returned.

Makoto righted the problem by righting herself.

She wished she had rethought the scenario as her head rippled with agony. She placed her hands on the sides of her head, attempting to prevent her brains beating their way out of her skull.

She ripped her hands away and slowly brought them back to her face and forehead. Slowly she ran her hands up into her hair.

She was glad she was in the middle of some sort of rock garden, which she realised was on the temple grounds. The thin hair on her arms stood upright, matching the thick brown spikes she could feel crowning her, her fingers cracking as the sparks of residual static barked at her intruding fingers.

She slowly stood and stepped around the chunks of masonry and began, slowly and avoiding the metallic wind chimes in the nearby trees, to walk back the way she had been thrown.

-------

Michiru knew this feeling, this buoyant paralysis, leaden yet lightweight.

The feeling that accompanied the subtle burning of the lungs as the last oxygen fled the body

In the dreamscape it was dark, shimmering. The absence of light at the ocean bottom, yet far off, a pinpoint of aqua blue-green, the surface, the waking world, not seen but sensed.

Breath was unnecessary, the disembodied perceptions unclouded by oxygen deprivation.

Yet the body was hampered by them. Burning lungs, devastating headaches and the numbness of limbs, all assaulted her, panic rising like bile in her throat.

Deep breathing in the place with no air didn't help as the mere expansion of her chest to draw in the non existent caused her body to become like a sponge, drawing in the unfelt wet clamminess that filled the confines of this private universe.

Saturating her cells, flowing through her veins like water burst forth from a damn. Raging like a torrent, coursing into her chest, into her heart, all the while feeling stark terror at the horror that was befalling her.

Her body seized as she sat upright, the rich air filling her with an increasing calm and the chill breeze goose dimpling the flesh of her body beneath her saturated clothing. She could still taste the salt tang on her lips.

-------

Haruka was buffeted by the winds; hurricane gales like those of the harsh sun baked deserts tempered with those ice-cold blasts from the Antarctic steppes.

Alternate and varying in their patterns the only constant being the ferocity and intensity which increased incrementally, all the while, her senses blinded in the oblivion of the mind, buffeted and confounded by the airs.

Stillness.

Haruka reached out with the only medium left to her, her thoughts, which were fleeting as the winds and as turbulent. Her body, useless and flapping in the wind mirrored her own feelings of fear and insecurity in this unknown.

The eye of the storm.

And then, the winds returned, destroying her train of thought like a house of cards, mind numbing pain and paralysing terror.

And the winds themselves carried the tang of atomic fire, flaying the skin from her body in its grinding breath and freezing her blood with the sub zero chill of the astral void.

Haruka sat up, eyes wild and breath ragged. Her hair and clothes were dishevelled, wrinkled with the influx and the following trauma. Her eyes, cautious as always scanned the area and were unable to find an enemy.

Standing, she scanned the ravaged clearing, reminiscent of the touchdown of a killer five.

Haruka fell to her knees, wiping the tears from her eyes as they stung her chapped cheeks.

-------

Hotaru stood silently. The massive impression and crumbled rock showed where she has smashed into the outcropping of stone in the forested area near the shrine. The fact it was in a reserve was handy for these sorts of "activities" her subconscious noted.

Consciously however, her shoulders were shaking as silent sobs wracked her body. Shivering she tried to fight back the tears that threatened to cascade down her face. Tears she feared would never stop.

Nothingness.

Even the bleakest of lives have hope.

-------

Endymion and Serenity watched in slow fascination as the orbs of light barrelled into their companions, dispersing their own energy sink. Their bodies lifted off the ground and crackled with energy, almost glowing with a holy light, divine.

Endymion, his psychometry kicking in, drew the future from the air itself and with a swift movement, a split second before their friends flew out towards the compass points, flapped his cloak into the air before him and covered both himself and Serenity with its voluminous folds.

A sharp banging pop and the tang of ozone wafted the air as he threw the cloak off them and helped the now, Usagi to her feet. His cloak fell to the cobbles, unattached to his casual street wear. He looked at it questioningly and it disappeared from the edges inward, golden fairy dust.

Mamoru banged the side of his head, clearing the ringing from his ears.

Usagi sunk into Mamoru arms as they looked at the centre of the circle, scorch marks of a midnight black, painting an eight-pointed star. Each point, as they followed with their eyes, led to a trail of destruction, branches and rocks strewn haphazardly, leading into various parts of the property.

Usagi turned and followed the path leading from where Mercury had stood. She stopped before disappearing into the foliage and gave Mamoru a weak smile.

Mamoru blew her a kiss and watched her turn and disappear into the bush. He himself then turned and followed the path that Setsuna would have travelled in.

-------

Ami lay propped against the outer perimeter of the shrine grounds; her shoulder slumped as she fought the effects of the concussion she suspected she had gained. Her palmtop Silver Millennium computer whistled and beeped at her as she scanned her vitals. Half out of it, the beeping increased and Ami was shocked to wakefulness as the computer indicated her vitals were accelerating at exponential rates.

Her back spasmed as she suffered a seizure, cracking her head against the ancient stone, and sending her into dreamland.

-------

Setsuna knelt in the small glade, the roots of trees, branching out, forming an almost pedestal like dais under her. Her body was curled, her elbows at her side and her fists rammed into her eye sockets.

She had experienced this once before. When Serenity had manipulated the time stream in order to throw her daughter and her court into the future.

The backlash of the attack Beryl launched upon Atlantis was like one hundred and fifty hydrogen bombs exploding like a preternatural hiccup. While the Senshi, on a supposed majority, thought that the Silver Millennium had fallen some thousand years ago, that date was off by nearly two and a half millennia.

The scholars of the ancients and the legends would come to call the battle that caused the fall of the galaxy's most enlightened society, Thera, a volcanic eruption that destroyed a culture reputed to have then founded the Minoan Dynasties.

Serenity had thrown the court some two thousand; six hundred and twenty eight years into the future, gracing the thousand years till the awakening of the light.

Beryl and the Negaverse she had left intact, imprisoned not for the thousand years the Senshi slept, but for all the preceding time as well.

And that was the feeling. Serenity had required the use of a younger Pluto's power, using it at levels Pluto had never tapped for a purpose she didn't understand, other than that it followed her duties.

And it had ripped her apart. As Serenity had cast the die to seal the fates of millions and breathed her last, the alone and isolated Pluto watched from the Gates of Time.

And this pain she felt now was like an earthquake to the foreshock it had been then.

Her internal organs, all her cells and her very self twisted and turned, her cell growth accelerating and decreasing at rates unheard of. Her wrists twisted as her bones became brittle, her hands involuntarily pulled from her face as her face sagged, muscle tissue deteriorating.

She could see it, her skin wrinkling and tightening, loosening as she aged and de-aged, time ravaging her like an invading army. Coughing, the iron taste of blood in her throat as she died and was born again, many times with the space of a heartbeat.

Salty tears coursed down her sagged and liver spotted skin as her powers turned against her, the pain causing Setsuna to fall on her side and shiver in the cold, her thin blood freezing her in the night breeze.

Tuxedo Kamen watched unnoticed from the branches of a large oak. While he couldn't see the emotional scars, those that danced across her body, they gave him a new level of respect for the woman below him.

He turned away and headed back into the boughs, leaving her to her private grief.

-------

Ami felt the burn of ice, the cold pain and numbness that accompanied the blackening of limbs and the bite of the frost. Debilitating cold. Maddening cold. Creeping cold. The cold where you bite or stab yourself to make sure you can still feel, that you are still alive.

All her limbs frozen, the pain in her head, the rich red warmth, slowly bringing her out of the icy depths.

She groaned, her limbs heavy and numb, her lips cold and dry. She could feel the crystals on her fingers as she moved her hands, could feel the icy sheen under her jeans and she most definitely could feel the cold, pained everywhere else, but soothing on the back of her head.

Ami sat, a wave of dizziness breaking against her, as she moved. The grass cracked beneath her, sharp against her buttocks. Although her vision was slightly blurry, icicles having formed on her eyelashes, she could make out the frozen blades of grass and crystalline shrubs. Like a scene from Doctor Zhivago, she sat in awe at the winter wonderland.

She shivered, the cold from the earth seeping into her, becoming painful once more. Not wishing to get frostbite, and if her suspicion was correct, it was a possibility, with all the burning numbness, she slowly pulled herself to her feet, grasping a glacial branch to pull herself up.

The branch helped her up, and as she released her hold, it shattered into glassy powder.

She could hear leaves cracking. Standing somewhat hunched, ice on her clothes and skin, she waited, weak and wobbly.

Usagi came into view, looking skeptically around the bend and into the arctic clearing within which stood the dishevelled and slightly disorientated Ami.

Usagi, her eyes wide, ran quickly to Ami's side, careful not to slip on the frost.

"Ami?" The name itself was a question; actually asking would have been unnecessary.

"I hurt my head." said Ami quietly as Usagi placed an arm around her shoulder and steered her, towards the main courtyard.

-------

The portal above the streets of Tokyo was seen by a few people passing. They did what came naturally; they left quickly. Only tourists watched this supernatural shit go down, not knowing the extent and damage that this stuff could do. Locals got the hell out of there as soon as any, even slight weirdness, presented itself.

Living in Juuban it was almost like a fire drill.

The figure, its pale skin clammy and rough, tumbled from the portal, which, even for the weirdness that Juuban saw, didn't close. The figure made a rather deep crater in the asphalt, and after what seemed like minutes, pushed itself onto all fours.

The figure slowly got to its feet. Its black dress uniform was dirty, burn marks staining it as well as the bleach white face of the wearer. The limp black hair of the individual blew back on an unseen and unfelt wind and the creature stood to its full height, bellowing in rage and agony, its red pupils slowly expanding to cover the whole eyeball.

The creature slumped forward again, its fingernails lengthening to about an inch on each finger as it took a staggering step forward.

A delivery van turned the corner, slowly, its driver, obviously intrigued by the quiet of the streets that usually held the bustle of late night shopping.

Too late, he noticed the pale, shambling individual and slammed on his brakes. The van screeched and came up on its front wheels before stalling. The driver looked back and forth, panicked, as he hastily keyed the engine, hoping to start his van so he could reverse and get back to a more reality friendly part of town.

The engine coughed to life and he screamed in response as he looked up and the white clawed hand slammed through the windscreen and clamped around his throat.

Azel sneered, his skin, smoothing slightly and his posture getting better, his muscles bulking; as he drained the life energy and spirit from the man. Azel pulled his hand from the windscreen and watched with disinterest as the man's now desiccated corpse fell face first against the window and crumbled into dust.

Azel placed a hand on the fender of the van and pushed it off to the side, its metal frame scrapping against the concrete.

Unaffected the pale figure continued down the street, his eyes set on the darkness that sat far up on the hill before him. The Hikawa Shrine.

**Chapter Sixteen**

**SUGILITE ASCENDANT**

_"Shriek the lips, across ragged tongue_

_Convulsing together, sing violently, _

_Move the jaw, cry aloud, bound up the dead_

_Triumphantly"_

_Rob Zombie - "Superbeast"_

-------

The haggard group of warriors stumbled into the back courtyard, their eyes haunted and their faces pale, images flashing over them from the past few minutes, images that scared and captivated.

Usagi and Mamoru could feel it in the air and through each other, even without their transformations, the tension, the discomfort, a feeling that was so physical as to surpass an emotional title. The eyes of the Senshi darted to their companion's faces and quickly fell to the ground, the air thick and heavy with the unsaid.

They had felt something also, a heightened awareness shared betwixt themselves. It would bear discussion in private. Later.

A loose circle formed, all reluctant to be near each other.

Mamoru could feel it, his hands tingling like the skin was alive and on fire, a sensory avalanche. He stayed on his feet, his eyes fixed closed as the residual emotions from the Senshi assaulted his mind. In the centre of his being, he could feel it glow, the Golden Crystal, calling to him, prompting the action.

Mamoru skin burst into a bronze light, the armoured, stalwart form of Endymion replacing the rather haggard and confused alter ego. Arms at his side, Endymion turned his palms upward and then raised them to the sky.

-------

"She's made a potentially fatal mistake. Her ambition has clouded her judgement as has her faith in her magicks. Her beast youma has jumped the gun, I believe the term is."

The dark shrouded figure paused, its posture conveying the trepidation that must have crossed the hooded face.

"Yet she has balanced the opposites and now deems to bask in the power of a corporeal form, trading off a possible defeat in the future for a greater likelihood of domination in the past."

The shrouded figure's hand tightened on its black staff. The base end was ornamented with a simple silver ball, large enough to fit in his palm, the globus resting on the seeming nothingness of the flawless black marble tile. The top of the staff was adorned with two scythe blades, the razor sharp point's mere millimetres from touching in their upward curve, rather than the standard ninety-degree, approximating a massive stabbing spear.

The room was quiet and cold, blackness like a pit of improbability. The figure seemed one with the dark, yet apart at the same time.

A second figure stepped from the shadows, her long, deep green hair muted in the subdued twilight. The starch white of her seifuku clad body was a counterpoint to the dim mausoleum, drawing in all light and dulling the blood red of her bows and the green of her skirt and boots. Flickering red, the Garnet Orb atop the tarnished steel of the time staff, blinked like a heartbeat.

"So in one action, she will dictate a future, for better or worse." The statement was delivered with a grim detachment rather than the questioning air of the rhetoric.

The robed figure turned to face the Time Senshi, his robe moving like oil through the air, slow and languid.

"Why serve in the heavens when you may rule in a hell of your own design."

The dark figure licked his lips, dry from the chill in the air. He could see the years on her unchanging form, her hair longer, to her waist, and her eyes carrying the added weight of decisions past and future that haunted her equally, yet tempered by a spark of hope and a longing for beauty. The beauty that existed in peace.

The dark figure's staff collapsed, sinking into the darkness, seeming to become one with the air.

Slowly the figure reached to his face, his long tapered fingers, brushing the fringe of his loose hood. Almost impossibly the obsidian band on his left middle finger seemed to be a black hole, a midnight compared to the day of the shadows.

Pale skinned. His face had high cheekbones, his raven hair pulled into a tight ponytail, eight thin braids emerging from the steel clasp. The face held grey eyes, muted and full of sorrow. An elegantly trimmed black goatee beard covered his chin and upper lip.

"It was through no fault of your own. The timelines all bear points of likeness. At some stage, she would have made the journey. Whatever fates decreed she would take this opportunity played us a subtle hand. Any difference whether titanic or slight, could have cursed humanity and the galaxy to an eternity of demonic servitude. Your admission to yourself has already swayed the balance in our favour, although risked your continued existence."

"I know this, but I do not use it to excuse my action. If I had taken time to think, I may have found an easier way."

The dark figure cut Setsuna off.

"Time. You have had eons, lifespans of multiple universes to think. We are only human. You, I, and even Serenity. You believe she did not foresee the possible outcomes? What choice was left? Allow this Dark Queen to reign in the crystal paradise or cast her to Earth like a biblical plague? Light and dark, mother dear. Innocence is asleep, the struggle of life having borne it into a stupor of unconscious dilemma. What knowledge they gleam will give them power to defeat her evil. They have youth and are unblinkered by the confines society breeds."

"Power corrupts."

"Yes," the figure replied, "but even the light knows the darkness exists. That awareness of its faults makes it stronger, more humble. Darkness refuses to acknowledge its capacity and inclination towards the light, hence its ignorance is its downfall."

Setsuna smiled wanly at the figure and placed her left hand on his shoulder, her right still tightly encircling the Time Staff.

"You quote me."

He smiled in return; "Doubt is a strength although it appears otherwise."

Setsuna laughed gently, her eyes lighting, as the sound rang hollowly throughout the dark confines. She stepped back gradually, fading into the shadows.

The figure waited until he was certain of his solitude.

"Doubt!" he barked, the Reality Wand materializing in his hand as he spun it around his wrist and drove the blades deep into the onyx floor.

The staff vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The figure looked solemnly at the floor as the midnight marble healed itself like liquid molasses.

With heavy heart the dark figure turned and strode away, his heavy boots ringing on the living crystalline floor.

"Being is not the same as knowing, just as knowing is not the same as being."

-------

Artemis looked at the sky directly in front of him and his black furred companion. The expanse of road that led directly to the Cherry Hill and the Hikawa Shrine seemed suddenly quiet. Artemis felt his stomach knot. He had felt this before, this cold dread in his bowels.

Luna looked at Artemis and then to the air some feet up at the terminus of the street, pushing aside panic at the disbelief in her partner's eyes. She too knew the feeling, raw, cold, yet burning like a cancer of the soul.

They had felt it before.

Before the Silver Millennium fell.

And then the portal opened, blight on the eyes, purple ether and violet lightening. Like a wound in space. It then wobbled, unclosing, the sparks of negativity arcing the horizon.

-------

The sparkling motes of golden light dispersed as Mamoru lowered his arms, bringing his hands to rest at his sides, his transformation fading as he did so.

Gathered around him the circle of Senshi unlocked hands and breathed deep. Broken ribs, abrasions and bruises healed under the soothing glow of Endymion's power.

Usagi stood off to the side; her eyes seemingly fixed on a point somewhere between this reality and the next. A sorrowful look marred her beautiful features.

Setsuna her clothes almost rags, age turning them to powder and fibre, cleared her throat, the harsh noise violently loud, even over Mamoru's ragged breathing.

All faces turned to her, conveying looks of contemplation, panic and grudging acceptance.

"Now we prepare." Her voice sounded hollow and lifeless, unaware of her almost nakedness.

Haruka nodded grimly and turned to her partner, a deep concern in her eyes. Michiru tightly clasped her hand. Both could feel the air, still as it was, a twisting storm of hot and cold currents, untempered by the dampness and the salt tang that clung to their lips. They were together once more and at present, this moment, that was enough.

Rei looked down to the ground, avoiding the sight of her scorched clothing. While she was healed, scalded skin, no longer an irritant, the smell of burnt hair turned her stomach.

Makoto scratched the back of her head, resisting the urge to pull at her tresses. She sharply moved her fingers away as sparks of static bit into her skin. Her rich auburn hair struggled against its natural fall as it curled skywards.

Ami rubbed her hands together; friction warding off the last of the chill that lingered deep in her being. The sheen of condensation on her back caused her to shiver.

Minako blinked, her eyes unfocused as she sought to correct her vision, the air seemed lighter, as if the moon was full above and shining down. Blinking once more the light changed, settling into the familiar murky twilight of a cloudy evening. Everything was blurred, her friends, the trees, the sky. Swathes of colour like wild splashes of paint inhabited the places where she knew her friends to be standing.

Hotaru stood; head down, her purple eyes clamped shut, silent sob's shaking her small body.

Setsuna had moved away. Slowly she tensed her body, piece by piece, her face away from the gathered sisterhood. Tears of pain streamed down her face and a small whimper escaped her lips. Untensing muscle clusters, she groaned as the fibres rubbed and her bones creaked. Several wisps of her rich green hair fell to the soil, slowly turning grey and fading to powder.

Minutes passed, the only motion that of breath and Mamoru moving to Usagi's side. They had both felt it, the raw influx of nature, solidified and condensed, almost personified. And they had seen the effect on their friends, bodies switching from civilian to Senshi and back, the power raging unchecked through both. Emotions served as words, the bond between them conveying their thoughts and knowledge as impressions, primal feelings.

To the scattered avatars it seemed as if a doorway had opened and through the door they had seen potential, a living, being creature, an amalgamation of their destinies, comprised of joys and hardships, shared and alone. And as quickly as the door was opened it slammed shut; leaving them with a feeling of infantitude compared with the scope of it all.

Minako spoke first, her voice shaky; "You all felt it."

Her answer was gained as no one returned her gaze, save Mamoru and Usagi who looked over the loose collection, pain evident in their eyes. Feet scuffed and bodies sighed.

Minako stopped still, her body tensing and suddenly she rounded on Setsuna, striding up to her, fists clenched at her sides.

"You knew! You knew how much that would hurt! Why didn't you say anything!" The last was not a question, the accusatory tone it rang with answer enough.

Instead of rage and indignation, Setsuna's eyes met Minako's full of pain, causing the blonde to take a step back.

The outburst had caught the befuddled attention of the remaining Senshi, who in turning back to reality, caught Setsuna's reply, quiet and humble as it was.

"Knowing is not the same as being, just as being is not the same as knowing."

Minako's embering anger erupted once more.

"Cryptic riddles, always with the riddles. I'm sick of not knowing, being played like a pawn for a fool by you! Who the hell do you think you are, you think you're better because you know how it ends up and we piss along like cattle!"

Before she could say more, a hand clamped on her shoulder, spinning her around to face an enraged Haruka, the knuckles holding Minako's shoulder beginning to whiten.

"Enough!" Usagi interjected her eyes brimming with tears.

Minako shrugged off Haruka grip and walked away, her back to the rest of the Senshi. The eyes of the remaining Inner's followed her, different emotions across their faces, from shock to concern, until Mamoru continued where Usagi left off.

"Indeed." Mamoru's eyes flashed to Setsuna, pity hidden, quickly to move onto a plea for calm and understanding as he looked at Minako and then the others, "Now isn't the time for this..."

-------

They all felt it, like the dead feel a bulldozer moving over their graves, that tingling at the base of the neck. Worse, the skin attempting to take flight and run away.

The soft padding of running feet broke the silence, as they turned as one (bar Minako) to see Luna and Artemis bound around the corner of the outbuilding, sprinting along the path that lead to the main courtyard and temple frontage.

"We have a visitor," said Luna, fear edging into her voice.

Rei resisted the urge to sag to her knees, the raw demonic evil of this enemy assaulting her mind like a hammer. "We know. It's him."

-------

The street was littered with congealing pools of blood and desiccated husks that had not minutes prior been living breathing humans going about their lives. Overturned and damaged cars, flames licking the metallic paint and causing it to bubble, smouldered and burned; clouds of dirty oil smoke pluming into the air. A broken water main sprayed heavenward and rained down, diluting the carnage into a puddle of suffering, the rainbow of gasoline stains morbidly attractive amidst the death.

In the centre stood Azel, his white skin gleaming with sweat and his hair flung back, the natural oil and slick greasy air matting it to his skull.

His demonic eyes glowed red, his rage having ripped his body into a new entity, power and anger fuelling an uncontrolled metamorphosis.

His pasty almost aristocratic face was broken by his cheekbones, high and distended in the change, combining with his eyebrow ridges to almost shield his blazing eyes. His ears had lengthened, going from his original almost elvish appearance to the point of being semi-batlike, backed with spurs of bony cartilage, flared to a height level with the top of his head. His uniform was stained with blood and other bodily fluids, ripped and torn from his victims struggles and bulging over his musculature, the once lanky figure now almost at a Herculean level of stature; misleading, as even unchanged, he was more than a match of most men. His pant knees were ripped open; knubs of bone like blunt spikes protruding from his knees, the skin taunt and stretched as slowly they popped out like hell-spawned larvae. The tattered grey Dark Kingdom uniform flapped in the unnatural storm. More spikes, like that of a chitinous lizard ran up his backhand and forearm, two rows, small and curved like shark's teeth, their points aiming to the fist.

The creature licked its lips, the yellow teeth glinting hideously in the flickering amber of damaged streetlights, its grey saliva, curling down its chin.

Azel raised his head to the sky; spit spattering the asphalt as a ridge of cone-like spikes erupted from his spine.

He howled his triumph. He was ultimate! He would not be defeated!

-------

Jack stopped. He had been quickly yet surreptitiously moving towards what he knew to now be a nega-demon. While a negligible humanity existed in the youma (due to their social caste system and other practices) and the youma-human hybrids, this creature had aligned itself with a creature beyond evil, of unsurpassed malice; and with a knowledge of dark magicks that made his stomach growl in terror.

The thin sweat chilled his body as the creature howled again. The sweat of fear. He untied the bandana and mopped his brow.

Now was the time. Had he trained his new body enough? No amount of spiritual intervention and good fortune would help him now if he screwed up. If the body gave out, and he hoped it wouldn't, even against the high odds it would give, he was quite simply and inelegantly fucked either way. This creature's power was almost like a death scent, thick and cloying.

He reached his right hand under his coat and patted the handle of the gun on his lower back.

"When in Rome..." he muttered.

He shrugged his coat back into place and pulled the bandana back over his mouth. Quickly he moved to the mouth of the alleyway and peered into the main thoroughfare, the trail of devastation indicating the demon's route.

-------

Civilians fled and gone, bodies cooling, Jack knelt to the ground. The horror washed over him, the memories of the fields of the slain bubbling to the surface. All the battles he had fought, the betrayals, the suffering, the losses. Losing her, losing his best friend and nearest to he surface, losing himself. After the Fell Queen had attacked New Crystal City on the Moon. That name again, Fell Queen. The death. The blood. The stench of faeces and corruption. Crius screwed his face up and dug the heels of his hands into his temples, his teeth grinding as he suppressed the tears of rage and indignation. And under it all the unknown name still echoed in his mind, Fell Queen.

Thump bump.

Naydar's heart beat faster and faster; panic clasping its icy hand around his innards as he failed to push the images from his head.

Thump bump.

The faces of the men under his command, friends and brothers in arms, the hurt that Bellerephon was not there by his side.

Thump bump.

A cascade of images, pummelling him like a thousand comets raining through the ether into the surface of a giant planetoid. His mother, his 'father', his sisters, his comrades, Setsuna, and his Princess, King and Queen.

Thump bump.

The erratic thumping stopped from what had seemed loud enough to give away his position to the thrumming of normal rhythm. Naydar moved his face to look upon the path of rampage. His eyes, blue as always, seemed to catch the flickering lamplight and glow, his white teeth clenched and barred beyond his thin tight lips, hidden in the blue fold of cloth. On his brow, unseen in this time, the circular oval of Taurus, his birthmark, its horns prominent, flashed.

"Never again." his voice ground out, low, throaty and full of rage and anger.

Then the huddled shape leapt from the alley and bounded down the street, its cloak billowing behind it like the retribution on wings.

-------

Nine young women, one man and two felines froze as the keening demon's cry of supremacy rang through the air.

Still, the night was still, like nothing was, or would be again.

A second cry and then the sounds rushed in, shattering their pains and conflicts like water through a burst damn.

Buzzing sirens, crackling fires, keening alarms and over, under and suffused with it; the cries of the wounded and the mournful. Wailing; suffering humanity. And beneath it all, rising to a crescendo was the mocking cackle of the demon.

Horror nudged aside fear, outrage kicked shock in the soft bits, and with a unified purpose henshin stick's were raised the sky, strained fingers and knuckles conveying the desire to put things right.

A singular thought washed over all of them, that in their desire for the normal, an unattainable, this recklessness and self indulgence had condemned innocents to death. They may not be able to put that wrong right, but preventing it from happening again was within their power. Guilt would follow later.

Colours, like a psychedelic overload, blasted across the courtyard, the smell of ozone, and blossoms pervading the air.

And they were gone.

Artemis turned to Luna, his face drawn and haggard. Both had seen the carnage a demon was capable of, a thousand years prior. Solemnity bathed the moment as he reflected on the images that haunted him still. And with that haunting came his guilt; that he couldn't do more then, and growing, the fact he couldn't do anything now. Luna turned to him and nuzzled into his ruff, under his chin, her eyes tearing as she remembered the last hours of the Silver Millennia.

Artemis spoke, his usual attitude struggling to overcome. "He is so going to get his arse kicked." His voice was wobbly with emotion and because there was a head on his throat. He could feel the black cat nod against his chest.

Their physical motion was not reciprocated in their hearts, as their minds screamed at them in terror for their ward's lives. But maybe if they believed that they could win, they would be okay. Youma, cardians, lemurs and automatons were all of the same, demons were different entirely.

-------

"Doubt and guilt," said the dark robed figure, "like bread and water. Defined as the pain, pointing to the remembrance of events and deeds."

The figure was once again in the room of nothingness, "Only through weakness and confronting said faults can true power be achieved, regardless of intent and design."

-------

Venus felt ill, so she charged along, somewhat behind her sisters, weighed down by a sick leaden feeling in her stomach. Why had she been so abrupt and rude to Pluto? The woman was infuriating in her obliqueness, yet time and time again; she had proven her humanity via her failings. But, beyond that a feeling of violation, like she had been invaded. She pushed the thoughts aside. Now was not the time. She increased her stunted pace as the small group rounded the main temple building cutting out from the wooded reserve behind it.

Uranus was champing at the bit as the Senshi leapt down the steps that led down to the street. Her breathing was deep and controlled, her lungs filling and emptying. She had yearned for this, a release of the tension for the past weeks and it gave her an elation to be running into the fray, the still air, streaming around her like the arms of her lover, caressing and intoxicating.

Mars stumbled as they reached street level, the overpowering empathic impulses a barrage against her psyche. So much pain and suffering; so much death. A small hand touched her shoulder. Saturn. The smaller girl's eyes were wide with anguish, as she too could feel the lingering touch of the spirit. And with more street to traverse before they reached ground zero; at this distance if the sting were great, the intensity nearer would be exponential.

Mercury tapped away on her computer as they began down the thoroughfare. Spiked readings jumped like solar flares pulsing, a being of incredible power, and full of wrath on the far end. Her computer whined in protest as her fingers, fuelled by fear and adrenaline, flew over the keys. The power was almost incomprehensible, unknown and alien yet familiar on the base level. Her computer in short, was as confused as the rest of them.

Pluto bounded over a car that had been shunted into the intersection by fleeing traffic. She alone of all the Senshi knew the fear that the moon cats felt. She had watched this before and been unable to do anything for fear of forsaking her duty. This Setsuna had learnt however. If life was on the line, duty could go fuck itself. So much pain she had seen and indeed caused because of duty. Lives lost and never to be returned. It would be more work to fix things after the fact, but life was paramount.

Neptune turned to watch her partner. The Senshi of the Seas was concerned with the look of determination in her partner's eyes, the drive. She knew the look, the competitive edge, sharp as the sword that Haruka's right hand twitched along, half hidden in her subspace pocket. Michiru knew the price of duty and sacrifice, yet as they drew upon the remains of civilians crushed by their fellows as they sought to escape; she also knew the cost of futility.

-------

Sailor Moon fell to her knees, as they came upon the fringe of the carnage, her calves falling to the concrete as she slid to a halt, her white-gloved hands, reaching out to catch herself. The gravel left a dark bloodstain along the pristine white of her uniform. She had stumbled on a piece of masonry, a small body beneath it. It had flashed through her mind, this child's face, superimposed with that of her own daughter. And he stopped also, seeing through her eyes. Endymion stood beside her, tears welling in his eyes, and rage brewing in his heart. Life crushed out, for no reason. He turned away, using the back of his hand to wipe away the pearl of salt water sliding over his cheek. Jupiter knelt beside her princess, a hand on each shoulder. She squeezed.

"Usagi, we have to go."

The tear-filled eyes looked up at Jupiter, questioning. The question they were all asking, shock and disgust, and fury, written on their faces. No less were the tears that washed all faces, streaking the grime that was even now cloying the air.

Why?

"It's not our fault Usako. We weren't to know. We..." Mamoru's voice trailed off as he clenched his fist and pulled out his broadsword. He turned and powered down the street, mounds of suffering on either side.

Breaking their shocked silent communion for the departed, the others followed.

-------

Crius was perched upon the roof of a rather nondescript building. Below him, some five floors or so, at ground level, the nega-demon, was busy ripping his way through several squad cars and the accompanying police. Tokyo had obviously upgraded its law enforcement department; still, the impressive military shells launched by the cannon-like handguns were being shrugged off by the monster. Gore clung to the creature like slime, and the beast seemed to revel in the slaughter. It brought the last officer to its mouth, clamping down on her throat and ripping, a spray of blood fountaining over its already stained visage.

Crius counted three squad cars, one overturned, its two occupants crushed and trapped by the steel net of its roll cage. The second car was half embedded in the ground, its bonnet smashed into the asphalt by a downward punch from the demon, as it strove to run him down, its roof ripped open like a sardine can to expose the officers within. They were now desiccated figure's adorning the wreckage like hellish tinsel. The third police car sat off to the side, its siren squeaking mournfully in the night. One body lay trapped under it, pulled under the body of the automobile as the demon kicked out at it, sending it to crush the officer. The final officer fell limp and broken to the demon's feet, her body quickly drying like parchment.

Crius' stomach turned and he sought to keep detached, and thus, not allow his rage to best him. The beast had doubled back when it had heard sirens, frightening emergency workers and those voyeuristic onlookers of carnage known as the media. An ambulance was embedded about two stories up one building and several news-vans littered the pavement.

The beast stretched, its white hide, thick and shiny with sweat and other less savoury liquids.

It was almost of millennial proportions. The carnage, the devastation, the black sky underlit by the flames and the harbinger, a demon, exalting in his glory.

Crius swore as Endymion came to a halt at the apex of the nearest intersection. It was evident that the foundation of his universe was crumbling by the look on his face, as he took in the sight and the demon slowly turned to face him, its lips curled in the twisted approximation of a smile.

-------

Azel grinned. He sensed the approach and revelled in it. He would destroy the Senshi and take his place at her right hand. Slowly he turned his gaze coming to rest upon a rather shaky looking King Endymion. Azel's mind fought the urge to destroy the King first. His new powers would be a challenge, even in this form, let alone the fact his destruction would cause the Queen to lose all control. That reluctance on her part was the key to success. If he remained alive she would be grounded somewhat. Where Beryl had destroyed him and thus unleashed the fury, he would accommodate, taking the Senshi one by one until he could face down the King, where he would absorb him and withstand the rage of Serenity. The look on her face as he shrugged off the power of her anger and the Silver Crystal would be well forth the hazards.

He would rely on them to strike first.

-------

Endymion barrelled along the road, rage pumping his legs like pistons as the thoughts invaded his mind. He saw the child cradled in Usako's arms and its face changed to that of his daughter. Then to Usako's face. Innocence lost and his world raped by the blight of demons drove him. He would not fail her again as he had in the past. He now had the means to end this and by the God's, he would.

The sirens invaded his rolling mind as he looked up. Within range now he could see fresh flames and feel the demon itself, its unnatural aura like an abscess on reality. The ambulance several stories above ground was a passing trifle as his mind focused on the task ahead.

Striding in his lopping run he came to the base of an intersection and looked upon the carnage first hand. He stopped.

The creature's back was to him, its Dark Kingdom uniform strained over its back, ridges of white bone, running the length on its spine. Its legs were slightly bents, the lower cuffs of the trousers ripped as the taloned white feet had shredded the boots. Its forearms were spiked and its black claws dripped in the fiery half-light.

The drip of blood from just one fingernail seemed to be loud enough to shatter what remained of his mind.

And the beast turned, its semi-vampiric bat-like face, full of evil yellow teeth, baleful red eyes gleaming as it smiled at him.

His resolved seemed to ebb. Again the thought of his loved ones dead, fodder for the vassals of Hell, assaulted him and the bile rose in his throat.

"DIE!" he screamed, brandishing his sword and charging the demon.

The demon feinted and blocked the right-handed downward blow by crossing its right arm over its body. The blade bit deep into his bony forearm, sticking in the calcified armour and his left hand snaked out at lightening speed to grasp Endymion's throat as he strived to pull his weapon free.

The beast threw his right arm to the side, the blade pulling from Endymion's hand and the arm itself to spin end over end and land embedded into the asphalt, the hilt thrumming violently.

The red eyes gazed deep into Endymion's own and the beast seemed to laugh as it flung him aside.

-------

The Senshi arrived in time to see Endymion crash into the corner of a building on the terminus of the intersection, the impact shattering brick and his body tumbling to the earth, mortar and rubble falling upon him.

Shock broke through Usagi's horror and she ran to the limp form of her lover, moving rubble quickly to free him from the cloying dust.

The demon coughed and all eyes turned to him. Theirs were much the same reaction as Endymion's had been, incomprehension, disgust and fear, pushed aside by a burning desire for justice.

Mercury's visor slid down and she assumed a defensive stance, her arms before her body, the air whitening as she called her powers to bear. Kneeling, Mars readied her aim and with the cry of "Flame Sniper!" let loose a volley of arrows. Pluto assumed her position between Mercury and Mars, her Time Staff clenched tight, the Garnet Orb almost touching the ground, trails of purple iridescence fluttering her hair. Venus moved to stand before Endymion and Serenity, her finger held like a gun, an orange ball of coruscating light forming. Neptune and Jupiter positioned themselves at either end of the defensive line across the thoroughfare, both preparing attacks, Jupiter's lightening rod crackling and a thin sheen of water rushing to congeal at Neptune's feet.

All this happened in an instant, with Uranus and Saturn unsheathing their weapons behind the line of defence.

All watched as the barrage of flaming arrows arched towards the creature.

Slowly, almost leisurely the creature waved its right hand to block the attack, sending the arrows bounding in all directions. Two struck the building forming the left end of the defensive line, dust and rock raining down. Two arched over the creatures shoulder, one striking harmlessly to earth, the other impacting with the still wailing police car and incinerating it. The final arrow arched up and collided with the top of a building beyond. A plume of smoke wafted up from the collision.

Using the dust as cover, and the past transgressions as reason enough, Saturn and Uranus leapt over the line of Senshi before Venus could call them off and charged at the beast. Cursing she stayed before Usagi at the right end of their line.

Saturn ran at the beast, her glaive held like a pike and she lunged left and right, centre and left and right, seeking to impale the creature as she came in range.

The beast laughed at her, spurring her to increase the speed of her thrusts.

"What makes you think that would work this time when it failed the last?" The creature's gravelly voice intoned as its grabbed the haft of her weapon below the blade with its left hand. Saturn looked up into the beasts eyes and was shocked, recognizing the same being who had humbled her before, eyes wide, she felt the demon bring to bear his strength and lift, both her and glaive off the ground and into a wide arm counter clockwise spin.

Uranus, some scant seconds behind Saturn was amazed at the child's speed and using her run leapt at the creatures face, coming in from an angle to its right, her sword reared back for a side slash. Too late she realised the folly as the whirlwind form of Saturn slammed into her and sent them both flailing into the asphalt and digging into it, their bodies curled into each other.

The beast had its back to the downed Senshi, broken and bruised, down the left arm of the intersection and looking over his shoulder at their still forms, he turned slowly to the remaining warriors, faces agape, as he flexed his left hand below his chin.

"My backhand has improved."

Almost like it was some preordained signal, the Senshi let rip with their attacks, the focus energy gained and let loose even before they screamed their mantras.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

"Deep Submerge!"

"Aqua Rhapsody!"

Jupiter released the ball of super-condensed atomic lightening in a curled underarm pitch, combining it with the sphere of living seawater sprayed from Neptune's outstretched hand. The energy thundered along like a tropical storm-come-tsunami, sparking as the electricity fought its counter-element and drew up the needle sharp javelins of glacial ice, sent by Mercury, their misty contrails streaming in the air.

The foggy bank of elemental fury slammed into the beast obscuring the view in a cloud of salt and ozone.

"Crescent Beam!"

"Dead Scream."

"Burning Mandala!"

Super-intense light erupted from Minako fingers like a plasma blast, an isolated supernovae spraying forth directly into the centre of the gaseous cloud of power. Corkscrewing around the light beam was a blackish purple ball of temporal flux, crackling as it emerged from Pluto's staff. Rings of flames, flung like shuriken by Mars, made the light dance like a pyrotechnic DNA strand.

The blast wave struck hard as the energy dissipated, throwing the Senshi to the ground.

-------

The beast flew backwards, slamming into the building behind it. Its remaining clothes fell from its frame, leaving only a shred of material serving as a loincloth. Scalds and burns criss-crossed the beast's chest and face, yet it wasn't in pain. Anger was the more precise approximation as it bellowed its rage.

Crius looked from the beast that had dominated his attention to the warriors that were struggling to right themselves. While not their ultimate attacks, the monster should by rights have been in a rather bad state, not just shrugging the effects off like those of a cheap hangover.

The Senshi were in various states of readiness, Jupiter was helping a shaky Mercury to her feet, Mars was standing at the ready her thumbs and forefingers forming a triangle, her palms outward, preparing her next attack. The shock of the wave had brought Neptune to ground, her face concerned for Uranus and Saturn, she was kneeling and had produced the Aqua Mirror from her dimensional pocket. Pluto stood before them all, her staff in a defensive, yet aggressive position. Venus was coming up beside her, the handle of her wink sword attack forming.

Crius crouched back below the parapet. That flame arrow had nearly hit him, a blackening hole some feet away, and he was lucky he had moved in time to avoid the blast wave of the six combined attacks. He reached behind him and pulled out his handgun. He released the chamber, checked the firing mechanism and the safety, reloaded the weapon and grinned at what he had seen out of the corner of his eye.

-------

Out the corner of said eye, under cover of fog and building fragments, Endymion and Serenity had made their way to the crater which held Saturn and Uranus. Serenity looked from both crater to beloved as Endymion favoured his side, the hand placed upon it glowing a pale yellow.

He straightened up, winced and flexed his side. He held his finger to his lips and glanced back at the monster, pulling itself from the wall and intent on the attacks Endymion could feel the Senshi building. He signalled that Usagi move behind the convex wall of asphalt the skid had created and moved to the crater wall. A hand flopped up the side, gloves missing fingers and looking somewhat threadbare. A head followed, a groggy looking Uranus, her hair dishevelled and sticking upright.

Endymion grasped her hand and she tensed, and was about to attack when she caught sight of him. Together they levered the dazed Hotaru from the hole and retreated behind the wall of sod.

Usagi poked her head over the top, in time to witness a large bird comprised of flame, protected on its flank by a dragon existing of lightening; slam straight into the demon.

She knelt back down and turned quickly to Endymion, who smacked his hands together, the clap lost in the crackle of flames and the boom of thunder. His palms glowed gold as he placed them, one over each of the wounded Senshi's foreheads.

Slowly tapering off the flow of healing energy he looked at the scruffy pair. Several indicative hand signals followed and his sword appeared at his side, recalled.

------

The wink sword glowed in Venus' hand as the creature shook off the last attack. It looked slightly the worse for wear; but was still a deadly opponent, anyone could see that. Venus turned to Setsuna, their previous argument forgotten as the green haired woman spun her staff above her head, a cone of purple coming into being.

"Chronos Typhoon" Setsuna muttered as she levelled the staff at the beast. Like a possessed dervish the attack screamed at the demon, enveloping it in its embrace.

Obscured from sight by the temporal storm, Venus raised the sword and charged towards the beast, leaping high into the air, her battle cry ringing loud over the sounds of battle and distant echoes of rescue, "Wink Sword!" And she disappeared into the cone of purple, her sword poised for a downward strike.

Pluto swung her staff to the side, calling off her attack.

Gasps of shock and disbelief passed through the warriors as Venus choked in pain, the left hand of the beast slowly closing her throat in a vice-like grip, the temporal hurricane having had not effect on the monster at all.

-------

Crius swore under his breath and vaulted onto the parapet almost as soon at Venus disappeared into the tornado. What in the hell was she thinking! Long-range attacks had only made it woozy, melee and that thing would be like trying to hand rear a great white shark.

Gun cocked and ready, he steadied his aim into the midst of the temporal cone. Crouching low, he cradled the base of the handle with his left hand, cupping the weapon into a more effective grip. His breath slowed as the tornado of time, dispersed in the dilution of seconds and infinite possibilities.

His suspicions were confirmed as Venus was revealed, loosely struggling as the beast clamped her windpipe shut with the tenacity of the subcontinental plates.

"Et tu Brutus." Crius muttered, gently squeezing the trigger on his sidearm.

-------

Many things happen in a crisis. Time slows down, or the perception of it does. Time is a human concept at any rate, divided by man into manageable units for designated tasks.

While this perception of time slows, the body strangely, takes in more; reacting with a speed that defies biological law, making both heroes and cowards of mortal beings. Situations are ascertained in a heartbeat, probabilities defined and discarded. Noise becomes an unwanted sense as does smell. It all hinges on action.

This crisis, this second in time saw many events pass with a rapidity that was superhuman, yet every event was marked and noted in the grander scheme.

Crius' arm recoiled slightly as he discharged his weapon, the bullet going on to hit Azel in the left shoulder, shattering his clavicle and causing him to drop Venus. The demon then turned and sent a brilliant beam of black lightening from his right hand at his assailant, even before his victim tumbled to the rubble at his feet. The building Crius perched on shattered under him as he crossed his arms before him, a natural response to any attack, the burn of negative energy washing over his being. Endymion and Uranus peeled off from the left and right of the lip of asphalt respectively, swords prepared for a doubled side swipe attack on the beast. Saturn mounted the lip and swung her glaive, destruction curling at the demon as she muttered her attack mantra. Serenity made a return dash towards the remaining Senshi, her wings fluttering in the smoky haze. Venus hit the rubble and detritus, her body rolling slightly with the impact. Pluto gasped as she realised that Naydar was putting himself at risk, Mars and Mercury similarly pondering, their thoughts then diverted to their team-mate, crumpled on the ground. Jupiter and Neptune both powered up attacks and stood ready, energy forming around them like a spectral nimbus.

Yet all attention went back to their adversary.

The perception of time slowing never lasts long, almost like only so much can happen in that given space. That said, noise, pain and comprehension slammed back into the hands of time, and again it started its inexorable march once more.

**AGE BEGETS WISDOM**

_"Trading places in the circle_

_Turn the glass, spill the sand_

_They say that time can make a difference_

_But age doesn't make you a man"_

_Creed - "Young Grow Old" - Human Clay_

-------

And then, having to nudge her mother and father into taking a trip to England had been an unwanted sideline. While the boyfriend's knew of the double lives the girls led, their parents were unaware and for good reason. Parental instinct was a dangerous emotion, she should know (her unique situation notwithstanding), and having them questioning every decision made and even, in fear and misunderstanding, baring contact between the Senshi; was not an option.

Too many lies and half-truths made up her existence.

-------

The old man was quite surprised to find her at his door. With the fact that she maintained an unbreakable solitude about herself, even when he saw her with his granddaughter and her friends made it strange to see her here, before him, in the middle of the day.

Her eyes spoke volumes however. She wasn't here to see Rei.

"I wish to speak with you Hino-sama."

He beckoned her to enter the main chamber, the large Great Fire smouldering behind them.

"Miss Meioh, you surprise me," he said.

"I surprise myself."

Uncomfortable silence followed. They both knelt on the woven prayer mats set aside from the main thoroughfare of the room. This corner of the room was dark, but the constant flames illuminated her face enough for him to see. He could sense her reluctance. Beneath that he could also sense her confusion. She wasn't used to the need of asking for help, especially not from someone like him.

"The fool perseveres on his own, while the wise seek counsel."

Her eyes moved to his face from where they had previously been static on the mat on which she knelt.

"You know then." It was a simple statement of fact. Obviously this woman was reading him as much, if not more than he read her.

"I do. My granddaughter and her friends are special. I can see this clearly; my eyes, though old, see more than is plain. My granddaughter, I knew was already destined for great things, she burns with a light unflinching. Her friends also. Like attracts like. They carry with them power and wisdom beyond their years and also beyond what their hearts wish."

"I knew, or at least, suspected as much," Setsuna replied. No mater how and when she did it, the outcome was always the same. She could change the circumstances and the revelations but the hearts where beyond her reach.

"The same is true of yourself." Setsuna looked up once more at this, the old man's piercing blue eyes looking deep within. "Your burden is more than any one being should carry, yet you shoulder the burden of this life with all your others, weighing the when and if with the impact it will have on the future and the indefatigable. Your eyes carry many score more years than my old body."

"You see far, master priest." Setsuna replied, her respect for this old man increasing as he stated things she had trouble comprehending as if they were dictates from the distant past, carved on stone for the generations to see.

"You worry for them."

"I do." Her mood was less pensive and she was opening up to the old man. "They do so much yet they are alone. And I fear they will be forever alone, as I am, cold and distant. Bitter women with no love, only duty."

"To perform duty with care and diligence requires love, does it not?"

Setsuna was quiet.

"Life is a gift; it must be lived, as is seen fit by the one who walks the path. Loneliness is often the regret of not being able to trust. Trust is as great a gift as love. Although it being spurned can hurt the more."

Setsuna pondered this. While the love between her charges was absolute, with others it was, or would be, fleeting at best, their partners, present and potential, destined to the normal span, while they would continue on. To be alone now, when the touch of another, the warmth of being one rather than two and sharing emotion was so vital in their young lives, was it wrong to forbid them trust as well. Could loving another unconditionally, teach them to love themselves in kind?

Would it carry them through the darkness to come?

"One already knows. The dark haired young man, although he shares their burden. But do not misjudge the others the girls have chosen. They have strength, and their love for their partners is strong."

Setsuna nodded. Mamoru indeed shared the eon's long burden to come. And the others at least suspected. Urawa wasn't being entirely honest with Ami about the extent of his powers, Yuuichirou wasn't as stupid as he made out, the opposite in truth, and Ken's loyalty to Makoto was beyond reproach.

Setsuna had one more question that needed asking. She knew the outcome of the events were they to come about, even though it was only in her heart that she had witnessed it.

"Their parents. Should they be told? It is their children doing this, for the world, for humanity."

"You know what would happen. Your look upon yourself as matriarch. Protection and providing are the parents simple and only wish for their children. With the danger they face, it is certain that they would rebel from the truth, believing in what they wish their children to be, rather than what they are. Have you not, many times, wished to shield them from the harsher truths they face?"

"Every day."

"And to accept that ones child is not as one sees them is the hardest ordeal for a parent, realising that the child is now in charge of their own destiny and grown to adulthood."

"That they don't need us anymore."

"I am far enough removed to see the truth, having lost a child, and realising sadly, that we cannot always protect them. They must eventually make their own choices."

"So they will make it known when they wish to tell their parents. If ever."

"Free will and choice are what mark us as different in the greater circle. To take that away makes us slaves and beasts."

The old man paused.

"But mark this, Miss Meioh. Parents do not relinquish their grip easily and the time must be right. Losing a child, through death or adulthood, can be equally painful. As can never seeing them grow to that adulthood.

Setsuna looked up at the old man. He had pierced through the real meat of the issue. She had placed herself in the shoes of the parents, not knowing, afraid at her child being gone at strange hours, if it were drugs, sex or something she could protect them against, but had failed to. She had the ability to do this for one single reason.

"Your son understands. You give much to your wards but your love for him is a constant that carries you on."

Setsuna stood. "Thank you, master priest." She knew that he wouldn't tell of this conversation, that her secret and the girls would be safe, until death, with this wise old man.

As Setsuna turned to go she spoke, breaking the old man from his contemplation.

"Master priest, you are wise beyond my years and blessed with a great sight. Please, for the sake of your granddaughter and her friends, do not let the secrets of that wisdom pass with you. Share your secrets with Rei. Gift them to her as you have gifted me with you counsel."

And with that Setsuna Meioh walked towards the door and opening it, moved out of the Fire Shrine.

-------

Grandpa Hino sat quietly for some time, just as Setsuna had left him, deep in thought. He was surprised to say the least, at the strange green haired woman. She saw as deeply as he yet could mask herself in a solid wall. She had opened that wall to the old man, making clear her concerns about the children and what they faced. Her concern for them was indeed motherly, as if she had watched them grow, take their first steps and would continue to do so for the rest of their lives.

But then, the old man mused; she had, hadn't she?

**Chapter Seventeen**

**GLIMPSES**

_"At times life is wicked and I just can't see the light_

_A silver lining sometimes isn't enough_

_To make some wrongs seem right_

_Whatever life brings_

_I've been through everything"_

_Creed - "Don't Stop Dancing" - Weathered_

-------

The raging demon form of Azel, crowed in consternation as it inadvertently lowered its arm, the near lifeless body of Venus slamming into his thigh, the orange light of her wink sword clattering to the torn asphalt before dissolving in circling motes of light and dust. The shoulder gapped as the lead slowly extruded itself, the wound healing itself like the rewind of a freeze frame. Fragments of bone and shredded muscle knitting with the purposeful agenda of retribution.

The building Crius stood on shattered under him as he crossed his arms before him, a natural response to an attack, negative energy washing over his being. Endymion and Uranus peeled from left and right of the lip of asphalt respectively, swords prepared for a doubled side swipe attack on the beast. Saturn mounted the lip and swung her glaive, destruction curling at the demon as she muttered her attack mantra. Serenity made a dash towards the remaining Senshi, her wings fluttering in the smoky haze. Venus hit the rubble and detritus, her body rolling slightly with the impact. Pluto gasped as she realised that Naydar was putting himself at risk, Mars and Mercury similarly pondering, their thoughts then diverted to their team-mate, crumpled on the ground at the monster's feet. Jupiter and Neptune both powered up attacks and stood ready, energy forming around them like a spectral nimbus.

Yet all attention went back to their adversary.

His left arm limp and useless, Senshi at his feet, the dirty snow-coloured demon raised its right arm and turning, propelled a beam of solid negativity at the building across the street, the stonework crumbling in its preceding surge wave, iron braces bending like straws. Rubble, dust and powder fell before the blast, raining upon the rare glimpsed bodies, all proving testament to Azel's fury. The bleeding and broken form of Venus lay at his feet, her fuku grazed and ripped by the rocks beneath her.

The sucking negativity stuck the defending sniper like a freight train, the vacuum before it ripping his long coat from his shoulders. Burning like unholy pins and needles magnified, the black lightening ate into Naydar's skin, his hairs standing on end. The mortar of the parapet crumbled beneath him, his boots slipping. Preparing to brace for the fall, he moved his forearms, leaving his chest and face vulnerable. Screaming in agony as the dark force ate into his vital organs, he fell from the fifth floor, obscured from those below in a cloud of dust, brick and purple static.

-------

The demon recoiled his right arm and smiled smugly at the mound of rubble, its yellow teeth gleaming golden in the firelight. Motion caught the youma's eye and his head turned to face the charging forces of Earth and Wind. The monster lowered on its haunches, preparing to meet the threat with lethal efficiency. It left arm twitched slowly, healing in the dim half-light of fire and stone dust.

Jupiter and Neptune needed only the slight preoccupation, erupting forth with lightening and ocean.

The electrical dragon, brilliant blue with the conduit water for blood, screamed down upon Azel, its maw dripping high voltage. The serpent curled in its flight, the straight scales leading directly back to its makers. Neptune and Jupiter held their powers steady, ready at a moment to flick the beast after its prey.

The beast stood intent upon the running Uranus and Endymion, the light from their swords glinting in its dead red eyes. Swords like opposite mirrors, light against dark.

And the beast leapt up, moving its torso back, flipping legs over to avoid the blast, feet aiming to curl up and over, a standing backflip, his toes out of reach of the cataclysmic current.

The serpent struck like its elemental basis, flying up into the youma, it's ragged, amp-encrusted fangs ripping through the white demon's hide. Azel screamed and spun horizontally in the air, his right side crashing against the littered ground, his chest folding a parked car neatly in half and encasing his armpit in an aluminium and steel shackle. Armed with but one free claw, injured at that, Azel writhed in pain, sinking his talons into the drake's eyes. With determined fury and dark magic, the demon clasped the dragons sparking skull from the inside and wrenched the wyrm from its stranglehold on his calves, bucking his hips for added leverage.

Grabbing the spine between skull and neck, the dragon's semi transparent skull holding little resistance, Azel flung the beast to the side, trails of oceanic lightening rippling across his damaged arm and torn legs.

Mars, Mercury and Pluto looked on in horror as the boiling thunder dragon crashed like a missile into the earth, its momentum digging a trench before the beasts throw shattered in against the side of a steel and glass building. The nimbic electrons danced up the building like a reversed lightening rod, feeding the discharge into the ash filled sky. Thunder rolled. And the glass exploded outwards like stinging rain.

Pelting down, Senshi covered their eyes and faces, grazing crystals of sand scouring marks across legs, arms and torsos. Unrelenting Endymion and Uranus closed upon the nega demon, as he pulled himself to his feet.

Shaking off the effects the demon had just seconds to react to the combined assault from the Senshi's of Earth, Wind and Destruction. The monster crossed his arms over his chest in an X pattern, serrated arm scales outward.

Wrist and elbow the blades connected, the high heavy swipe of Endymion counterbalanced by the low darting slice of Uranus. Fragments of sheared off bone chip spun in the hazy air like shrapnel.

Prepared for the beast's outward fend, the two spun in the air, Haruka on the left bringing the curved blade back behind her, twirling the Space Sword over and around, so the edge bit deep, stabbing into the unprotected flesh behind the nega-demon's knee.

High and hard, Mamoru's blade sang as it knifed the air, moving four guard through five guard, colliding with the ridged spine between tailbone and shoulder blade.

Azel caved at the knee, flailing his arms back to strike at his foes. The movement spasmed as Endymion ducked under the arm and impact of his heavy broadsword crashed into the monster's spine.

Leaping backwards and off to the sides respectively, the two Senshi left the demon alone to face the barrage of destructive energy following at their heels. The Death Reborn ribbons sliced across the monsters exposed chest and face, his arms back to his sides, mid feint against the now vanished assailants.

-------

Sailor Moon arrived back beside the defensive line of Senshi, Neptune and Jupiter preparing another co-joint attack, the remaining three scanning the battlefield.

"We need to get him away from Mina!" she called over the demon's roaring.

Setsuna nodded, her eyes gleaming. Mercury's mini computer whistled as she beat against the small keypad, Mars surveying the rubble from the building strike against Naydar.

Leaping off, Mars sprinted into the dead zone of the battlefield, curving around obstacles towards the collapsed brownstone. Pluto, judging the situation viable, did the same, heading towards where Endymion crawled under the death ribbons towards Mina's prone form.

Mercury turned to Usagi. "As far as I can see there are at least fifty dead from property damage, direct contact and accidents. We need to stop this monster now, because if he escapes..."

She let it trail off. Sailor Moon stood behind her the air boiling around her. Mercury covered her ears.

Saturn pulled back on the ribbons, having forced the demon back enough to allow Endymion and Setsuna to drag Mina from the fray and towards the relative safety of the collapsed building where Mars was burrowing through the rubble. The mystery sniper had disappeared under the building frontage as it fell down. Personally she thought it was a waste of time, the poor bastard was probably paste by now.

Neptune and Jupiter launched the next attack, a combined "Submarine Violin Tide" with a "Coconut Cyclone" further pushing the creature back as the Senshi moved to cover. Mamoru was signalling them to take cover and as the attack was released, Jupiter glanced towards Moon and Mercury. The Senshi of Ice had her ears covered as Usagi aimed her hands, splayed out into a star from the wrists at the demon.

"Neptune," she said, "I think we should duck."

The Ocean Senshi turned to look, and in response, dropped to the ground. Mako followed suit.

The dissipating purple ribbons were slammed by the added blossoms and sparks of the tidal wave cast by the pair on the far side of the battlefield. Mamoru had carried Mina behind the mound of rubble from the destroyed building, a large cornice work providing cover as Mars dug through the rubble some three metres away at the base of the building. His hands already glowing, Endymion set to work healing the severely wounded Senshi. Clasping both her limp hands, he poured his energy into her.

Uranus and Saturn hunched with Pluto, slightly forward of the Prince, covering him from any sporadic fire that may come their way. They ducked as a billow of steam rolled over the scorched earth before them, their backs to the mound.

Uranus shouted out "Who was that lunatic on the roof? He got himself killed with that stunt!"

Pluto interjected "At least Minako's safe. Without that shot, she would be dead."

"So it's a trade off situation, one human for one Senshi?" Saturn barked.

"It's never like that and you know it, now go help dig him out." Setsuna replied, ushering the girl with a push towards the still digging Mars.

"So why'd you shunt her off like that."

- Are you coming? Or are you going to stay under there all day? -

"Bad feeling," said Setsuna, sounding very hollow, her mind somewhere else entirely.

Hotaru joined Mars as the fire maiden levered an iron support beam from the debris.

"About time," the hot-headed priestess barked. "We need to get him out before he suffocates."

"He's probably already dead," Hotaru muttered, nonetheless grasping the beam

Mars was shocked at the chill response, semi audible as it was and had already said, "don't bank on it" before she realised what she had done.

Forestalling a further comment, the air was punctuated by a sharp pop and a sucking sound as air flowed backwards, collecting with a holy white light on the far side of the battlefield.

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"

-------

The fog and blossoms dissipated from the electric ocean attack and the demon was faced with the awesome purity of Sailor Moon's attack bearing down upon him. His chest laced with black furrows, brunt and charred fresh cauterized by the ribbons of Saturn matching the deep abrasion on his, legs from the Jupiter bitch's dragon. With all the bone razors on his forearms gone, the beast prepared for the oncoming holy attack, his fists clenched in an uppercut stance at his side, knees bent.

-------

Sailor Moon gasped in horror as the demon, swinging both his arms back and forward, pistoned them into a double punch that directly connected with her attack.

The air blazed slightly as the attack rippled, before flying off over the demon's head, his large fist smoking at the contact.

Ricocheted the attack slammed into the base of a building further down the street, exploding on impact and causing the otherwise intact structure to fall into the roadway. Rolling clouds fanned out from the downed architecture.

The monster was breathing heavily; his fists still smoking, the once white flesh now a dusty grey.

"My turn!" He screamed, his fists unclenched, as he thrust his arms palm out to his side. A black flare glowed before his chest before dispersing and slamming across the battlefield like ripples in the pond of the real.

Grey rippling blades of negativity hurtled outwards, slicing through concrete and steel, shattering glass and throwing debris as the waves careened towards the Senshi.

-------

"Hey Jack!"

"What?" Came the abrupt and somewhat groggy reply.

"Get up, we got stuff to do!"

"Can't you see I'm unconscious. Fuck off and go bother someone else."

The Crius entity struggled with this for some time. Naydar knew that he was fine and otherwise just dandy; Jack, on the other hand, was contemplating that he was dead. Forcing the reins, Crius opened his eyes, and flexed his back muscles, straining against the heavy mortar and concrete that entombed him.

It was then that the belated mental summons reached him, as preoccupied, as he had been previously with his reticent other.

- Are you coming? Or are you going to stay under there all day? -

Crius mumbled inaudibly under the rubble, "Sure Setsuna, just let me Mohammed this off me and I'll be right there." Struggling redoubled, Crius heaved under the dust and brickwork.

-------

The eddying negativity slammed into the Senshi seemingly at the same time, them more or these forming a single sided perimeter against the monsters front. Thrown backwards, Neptune and Jupiter crashed headlong into the abandoned husk of a tour bus. Mercury tumbled end over end from her crouch; palm top flying as she rolled backwards, landing spread-eagled in the gutter.

Sailor Moon was lifted from the ground, her wings beating furiously to slow her march, before slamming into a lamppost, her head banging against the metal shaft. Limp she fell to the ground, kneeling loosely, head sagging.

The wave ripped through the mound of cornice Pluto and Uranus hid behind, shearing the top layer of rock off before connecting with the pair across their stomachs. In a rain of stones they flew over Endymion's head as he covered both himself and the damaged form of Venus with his heavy cloak.

Saturn, sensing the negative waveform seconds before it hit, materialized her glaive, blade ready in her hands. The force sliced over the blade, curling off to the sides. Mars, exposed and looking in horror was struck by the now folded force, flying through what must have been the only intact window in the street.

-------

Screaming in anger, Saturn charged the creature, spinning the glaive end over end in her right hand. Closing with the beast, she feinted as he fired a black energy ball from his pointed finger. Swinging her glaive, the orb was parried away, sailing into the sky and exploding with a rain of purple neon buzz.

"Not gonna fall for that again monster!" Saturn snarled as she stopped, some five metres from the nega-demon, and began circling him slowly, glaive balanced at the ready and moving slowly, the point dipping and weaving in an effort to distract him.

"Little girl, little girl," the demon scoffed, "you really don't think you can best me now do you, with me as powerful as I am."

"Power you stole, butt-plug, and power we claimed it back."

"That may be so but I'm full up on your essence. I'm tied to you now Bitch of Silence."

The momentary confusion was all Azel needed as he fired off a blast over Saturn's shoulder. Dodging the blast, Saturn's grin was met by the demons own hideous approximation.

She could feel it behind her, the hair on her neck curling. Her grin fell from her lips as the demon mocked her. "Tied to you, recognizing you, tracking you."

-------

The rubble moved slightly, bucking before heaving off to the side. A dusty and tattered man stood in the small depression he had just cleared. His bandana was now around his neck, having fallen from his face during the ill-fated attempt to block the demon blast. His sunglasses were shattered, the remaining ear and eyepiece falling to the ground as she straightened himself. His cloak was gone, disintegrated before his fall, his clothes, unprotected, now ripped in numerous places, his shirt in threads and the small cuts across his body gluing the remaining strands to him with blood.

Casting his eyes about the battlefield, breathing heavily, it seemed to Crius that he had tunnelled back to the future. He could she Neptune and Jupiter across from him, their legs, bloodied, hanging from the side of a bus. Mercury lay facedown in the gutter near the front of said bus, Sailor Moon slightly closer to him, her hands, like a puppet's, weakly holding her head.

Immediately to his left he could see Endymion, cloak flat about him as he covered the injured form of Venus, her boots protruding from the cape's embrace. His eyes roving, he caught sight of Pluto and Uranus, prone, lying amidst the dust and stone behind him, off down a more undamaged piece of thoroughfare. Rei lay slightly behind him; her body crisscrossed with cuts, her head against the counter of what had once been a fashionable boutique.

Crius could swear his heart stopped beating. But he knew it was real. Senses tingling he turned towards the right.

Saturn fell to her knees, then her face before the demon, her seifuku blackened and smoking in the aftermath of a youma blast. The chill look of satisfaction and bloodlust burnt in the creatures' eyes as it bent towards the fallen girl. Thick taloned hands clasped the back of her head as the demon pulled her to its face. Over the sounds of suffering he could here the tomblike chuckle of victory.

"Told you bitch, you can't beat me." And with that the creature heaved the girl, her body limp as a rag doll, towards the Senshi of the Moon.

Crius could feel something, burning and electric deep in him. Building it felt like his muscles were burning, twisting and contracting within him. His eyes rolled back and his teeth clenched as small chunks of stone rose about him, the gravity holding them to earth fluctuating wildly. Ragging the storm continued, tatters of blood caked shirt peeling off and up to disperse in the air. It was like an awakening, feeling what he had missed, his power, unbridled like a storm.

Screaming in triumph, he caught the monster's attention. Confused, the beast looked sidelong at the man who now faced him with a look of righteous wrath, clad in blue and grey body armour, the symbol of the bull burning on his forehead.

The voice was cold and low but carried to the demon's ears over the distance that separated them. "Never again."

--------

"Crius, what you did was irresponsible and unforgivable!" She seemed to forget in her frustration that he wasn't the only person she needed to be angry at.

"Save it, Setsuna! I am sick of the whole duty involved curse of my existence, fighting and tragedy but no time for the heart. How many times have I been off for months in the territories, cold and outnumbered, while others have the love of another to warm their souls!" His voice was rising and his eyes gleamed with the silvery energy his frame contained. Clenched fists danced at his sides as his anger threatened to boil over. "And the whole shit about time being disrupted. It already has been damnit, I'm dead, fucking dead as stone, and I haven't even been born yet. Fuck time, fuck duty and fuck you. I'm already dead, borrowed time. For once I am gonna live!"

The Senshi of Gravity disappeared in a miasmic cloud, the very air heavy with his rage and the harsh words.

-------

The strange man stood before him again, clad in lavender suit and cuirass. Like a mirror carrying age and pain, it matched and complemented the dishevelled young man, clad only in black boxer shorts.

"Who are you damnit?" the younger asked, his rage boiling. In the seemingly endless night in a life of unwaking darkness, this tormenter was again before him. Had it been three days since the first dream or three hundred. The dark intonation echoed in his days like his racing heartbeat.

"She will die. You hold her life in your hands. Leave her."

"No, I will not. I love her. You are no-one to me, leave me to my sleep!" Mamoru brandished his fist at the creature, who despite provocation, name calling and questions as to his sexual orientation (that purple suit didn't help matters) remained as impassive as the mirror that held him.

"She will die. And it will be your fault. Leave her. It is selfish of you to hold her when captivity in this sense will break her. Free her from your foolish heart, release her."

Mamoru could feel it breaking down around him, his will. It was true, this man was an unknown but his gut reaction was to believe, to trust this emissary.

The mirror Mamoru could obviously see what was happening within his real self and as the real forced his hands over his ears the scenery shifted.

Broken towers, crystalline spires all under a dark sky, broken and shattered. The only remaining figments from the past dreamscape were Mamoru and the purple man.

"This is the world without her. Dead, dying, empty of hope." Sheets of black lightening fired across the heavens, clapping sullenly. The mirror continued. "And I know you, I know her. I am you. I am you without her. Leave her and spare the world and us, you and me, past and future, this pain."

Mamoru screamed and sat upright. His sheets were tangled about his limbs, his nightmare thrashing constricting him. He could still hear the purple man's words echoing in his dark bedroom, calling to him from Elysian. And he shook himself. The emotion, despair, pain, tragedy, all had assaulted him as the crystal city had appeared, breaking his will further and further down.

Eyes bloodshot, Mamoru fell from his bed, sheets peeling off his legs as he walked into his kitchenette. Opening the refrigerator, a dozen beer called to him. Relaxant. He normally had a couple at the end of a hard day to relax him for sleep. He needed sleep. Sleep unhampered by the other man, this being who said he was himself. Distant and detached and hoping that he could sleep after a can or two, Mamoru cracked the top open and began to drink.

-------

He lay broken in the smoking crater. The smell of death wafted around him like it had become part of the air itself, cloying his nostrils with its acrid reek. The fire and lightning of the battle sheeted across the sky like some crazed aurora effect. He could have put it down to hallucination, but he knew better.

His stomach wound oozed blood steadily; his breathing had become ragged. He could see his dim reflection in the muddy puddle at the bottom of the crater he had propped himself against. He looked like he should already be dead.

Turning his gaze towards the side, he glanced across the battlefield. His comrades fought valiantly, yet the forces of the Queen ran them down like a scythe does wheat. He could see some of the planetary banners being tossed about in the wind like rags, other's being crushed into the dust by merciless feet.

He coughed, the rich metallic tang of blood filling his mouth. He spat.

It would not be much longer.

-------

The purple ripple of negating energy coruscated from the glaive held in the lithe girl's hand, the nimbus expanding from where she stood on the rocky outcrop. Around her lay the field of battle, the bodies of Lunarian and Nemesian resting together in their beds of death. And he laughed. The blonde man laughed, his short-cropped hair bouncing as his muscular form swayed in jubilation.

"I have won, Senshi! I have defeated you, as my mistress could not. Feel that pain, feel your loss and mourn your heart's agony."

Saturn glared down at the man, the anger in her face evident. "You killed my father, beast and destroyed my mothers mind! Die!"

"No sister!" screamed Helios as the energized force mushroomed and existence winked out.

-------

Setsuna looked up at the old man. He had pierced through the real meat of the issue. She had placed herself in the shoes of the parents, not knowing, afraid at her child being gone at strange hours, if it were drugs, sex or something she could protect them against, but had failed to. She had the ability to do this for one single reason.

"Your son understands. You give much to your wards but your love for him is a constant that carries you on."

Setsuna stood. "Thank you, master priest." She knew that he wouldn't tell of this conversation, that her secret and the girls would be safe, until death, with this wise old man.

As Setsuna turned to go she spoke, breaking the old man from his contemplation.

"Master priest, you are wise beyond my years and blessed with a great sight. Please, for the sake of your granddaughter and her friends, do not let the secrets of that wisdom pass with you. Share your secrets with Rei. Gift them to her as you have gifted me with you counsel."

And with that Setsuna Meioh walked towards the door and opening it, moved out of the Fire Shrine.

-------

The cone of calm spread out across the beaten globe, its impetus rolling over mountains, like the sea does over a child's sandcastle. The radii expanded as the point of origin, a bare blasted crater, stood stark and dull against the coruscating nimbus that spread away from it over the face of the planet. Slowly like the formal burial shroud of the truly deceased, the sky was covered with a thick woollen blanket of gray nothing.

Out in space, the twin planets of Terra and Venus, to the casual observer, took on a more sisterly appearance, dark and foreboding like old fruit on an otherwise bounteous tree.

-------

Above her head the moon shone with a pristine radiance that captivated her. In times when she was troubled, she would stare at the orb of the night, seeking questions from a woman she barely knew, but who had given her everything added with the weight of an unbearable responsibility.

Vapidity and naiveté aside, she had a shrewd mind. She knew he was upset about something. He had become abstract. Warm when he was with her, alone Usagi, the klutzy girl he deeply loved. His eyes told her as much. But when the phantom personage of her alter ego was sparked or even mentioned, his eyes spoke a different song altogether. A song of pain; mourning and loss. Did he believe that every time she said those words, she ceased to be? She could understand his confusion. Duality of character had caused him troubles unparalleled in the literal sense. Many futures beckoned them both with countless trials.

Her seeming vapidity disguised her fear that they would be found lacking. Her faith in humanity's innate goodness and her love for him carried her on.

She was scared for him. But also of him. She could she the pattern emerging, the distance growing like it had three years ago. And now she couldn't blame it on a little girl from the distant future, or a nightmare. She could blame herself though. And she did.

What had she done to push him away?

-------

The term ground zero is true in two ways. One, meaning that it is before the first, the central location in a chain reaction of destruction, the exact centre of rage. Secondly that nothing is left, but the naked earth, wounded and pained.

The ragged wound bled, thick magma like bright blood, in a scrape deep and raw like a burst abscess, the evil poison at last expelled.

The ground was greying in the harsh light; the light of the sun refused by the toxic haze of impending nuclear winter. Figures lay in the smoke and dust, their otherwise naked bodies shrouded by ragged pieces of cloth that spoke once of the glory and righteousness of their wearers. Slow movement, bodies loosening as the strain of fight left them. Sleep became them.

-------

The council chamber was silent. Despite the understandable absentees, the entire court had gathered in the wake of yesterday's events.

Eyes darted from face to face yet no words were spoken. Feeling ran high and one out of tone word could bring the finely balanced throne room down into the chaos it had so recently shed.

Serenity and Endymion sat slightly apart but watched over the assembled Senshi before them. Anger was clearly in their hearts, tempered for the meantime by their overwhelming grief. The pale queen turned to look at her consort whose face was drawn. Mamoru's stubble cast a shadow over his face, but the shadow in his eyes was darker still.

He spoke, his voice as tired as all his two plus millennia. "I see only one course of action."

No one wished to be the voice of reason, as doing so would make them seem unsympathetic and less mournful of what had transpired mere hours ago. In this very room, one of their own had been struck down, murdered in cold blood by another of their own, a trusted ally, a friend.

All knew the ramifications. To ignore the insult would slight their standing and show weakness to their enemies. To confront it would destroy the hard won peace that they had strove for since the First Nemesis War.

While only the Senshi and some of their elder children could remember that time, it had marked the lives of all in the Crystal Millennium.

"I agree. Yet with an assault on those harbouring him, we risk alienating the Nemesian High Council and destroying nearly a thousand years of diplomacy." Mars spoke simply, stating what they all knew to be true. Her eyes were bloodshot, raw dark circles framing her otherwise bright indigo eyes. Her hand clasped tight to that of her husband, himself pale and drawn. His otherwise immaculate grey suit was crumpled, its high collar undone and the lapel fold unbuttoned. Behind them stood their children, both crowned with fiery red hair, in contrast to their father's blonde and their mother's jet. Athena wore a derivative of her mother's seifuku, her red hair falling free and untamed over her shoulders, while Anhur wore a black bodysuit with red armour plating, his spiked red hair upright, like flames.

"Forget diplomacy, this will not stand." Uranus' calm tone was hollow. Neptune and their eldest child simply nodded in response. Both seemed on the verge of collapse, similar to all the Senshi and their children, having been up all night securing the place and questioning its inhabitants. Crius, in his blue bodysuit, silver grey plated, looked anxious and upset. The man in question had been his commander and had not only betrayed the Crystal Palace but the loyalty the troops had placed in him. His twin sisters Miyomi and Hikaru had remained on Neptune, yet had been forewarned of the possibility of the criminal passing them in his escape.

"Be that as it may Uranus," interjected Mercury, "the fact remains that while this was a coordinated assault we cannot mount a full scale attack on one planet to incarcerate a handful of dissidents." It was plain Mercury would rather had not said as such, her feelings for her fallen comrade and Minako paramount at this stage, but the Imperium had been built on justice and negotiation and didn't need one act of retributory violence to tear it apart. Zoicite, his long blonde hair back in a ponytail, had his hand resting on her shoulder, his uniform as dishevelled as Jadeite's. Thoth, the slight, blue haired son stood behind them, his long azure robes rustling as he tapped his foot nervously.

Several of the younger Senshi made comments about the proposed incarceration. Most notable was Anhur, who expressed an eagerness to incinerate. His mother looked at him archly and he mumbled an apology before biting his tongue.

"While Diamond has been dead centuries, he is still considered a prophet of sorts. There is little love lost between Nemesis and the peoples of Crystal Tokyo. We must at least make a political standpoint on this issue. If Adonis was simply being melodramatic or was in fact hired by high ranking nobility, we must make..." All the while his voice had grown tighter and more forced. Throughout, Endymion had clutched the heavy armrest of his throne. Finally his strength had shattered the armrest; his right hand and fingers clutched stone, shaped as a white knuckled claw.

"He no longer deserves that name. Give him the one she cursed him with. He is once more the villain." Nephlyte barked, his wife beside him, their daughters at their side.

"No matter what we conclude Venus and her offspring will take matters into their own hands. As old as she is, like the rest of you, she can still revert to childish petulance. "

"This is hardly the time Setsuna," Jupiter remarked.

"True, but this is a time where, more than anytime else, diplomacy must be maintained before we strike." Serenity superseded, hoping to cut off the argumentation that looked to be boiling to a head. It failed, and her definitive was ignored, as the throne room burst into uproar, the two factions shouting the legitimacy of their action and the folly of the opposite.

-------

Makoto lay in her ball, quiet and cold, silent tears still streaming down her face. She felt no compulsion to retreat to the warmth under her duvet, nor to grace her body with food or drink. Suffering emotionally felt better with a physical companion, a bodily need deprived.

A warm hand on her shoulder.

Makoto didn't move to see the newcomer. Why should she, perhaps her demons had come to torment her in body as they did in mind, perhaps he had come to force himself upon her the way he had before, laughing and mocking. Maybe Beryl would finally send her to hell for causing all she loved to be hurt and die. Maybe her parents had come back to curse her for being a bad daughter and making them ashamed, even in their final rest.

The hand remained and there was warmth. A hug, simple contact with another person, no catches, no pricetag, unassuming comfort. Just the understanding conveying itself in the form of an embrace.

No talk, just acceptance.

-------

The voice was cold and low but carried to the demon's ears over the distance that separated them. "Never again."

-------

**DISCLAIMERS**

Chapter Fourteen

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Big Empty by Stone Temple Pilots is copyright WEA International. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Fifteen

Started April 2000, Finished April 2001, Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Action by Def Leppard from the album Retro Active copyright Mercury Records and Polygram. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Sixteen

Started April 2000. Finished April 2001. Compiled and Edited June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Special thanks to Tim Nolan, John Hitchens,

Meioh-Kishi and Katie Eickhoff. Also thanks to the Sailor V Manga Translations by Alex Glover. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Superbeast by Rob Zombie is copyright. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Age Begets Wisdom

Finished 29th June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Young Grow Old by Creed from the album Human Clay is copyright Wind Up Entertainment, Epic Records and Sony Music. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Seventeen

Finished June 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Don't Stop Dancing by Creed from the album Weathered is copyright Wind Up Entertainment, Epic Records and Sony Music. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.


	6. Part 04

**EVEN FLOW**

R E V E R S I O N E D

A BISHOJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON Fan Fiction

By Nicholas Clark (Warriorsong)

_Comprised of the original fan fictions Even Flow Chapter 18 - A Month In the Life, Loving Stars, Chapter 19 – Guilty and Chapter 20 - Ink And Blood_

**4. DEVIL'S DOORWAY**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**A MONTH IN THE LIFE**

_"I'm about to be on the floor again_

_Surely your gonna find me here_

_I'm about to sleep until the end of time_

_Drug I take gonna wake my fear right now"_

_Three Doors Down - "Better Life" - The Better Life_

-------

The day before was a blur. So much had taken place in such a short time, that no matter how much he mused on it, he believed that he would never have all the events complete or even in the right place. He didn't really like to think about it, being as fresh as it was, but the day kept repeating on him, his eyes alert on today, his mind back on yesterday.

The centre of town was in ruins. Buildings still crumbling, gas and water mains ruptured and the fires only now being dampened down by the rescue crews. If Japan and the world had queries as to the actual existence of the Sailor Senshi, surely this evidence would be validation enough.

As he had walked to this, the ground zero, he had watched the men and women, real heroes, not the spandex clad variety, digging in the debris for the lonely souls now irrecoverably lost. Caught up in something they didn't understand and most likely never would. Innocent victim's of a creature whose very nature assured chaos.

Gas and water were shut down throughout the central business district; in turn meaning livelihoods and wages lost as well as jobs. Cars, trucks and emergency vehicles called into respond littered the area like they had been thrown from a child's overturned sandbox.

It was a needless sacrifice that these people had made, when they should have been at home, going to work, playing with their kids, or something, anything other than the oblivion that had snuffed them out in its rage and hunger.

They hadn't deserved this fate. They were now a mark on history's page signalling the devastation that came to call unannounced.

Mamoru couldn't help but cry, letting the shameless tears roll down his face.

Somehow it seemed like his fault. Not being vigilant enough, not being quick enough, not being where he was needed, when he was needed. Not being able to do what he should have. A whole closet in his mind full of inadequacies and twenty-twenty hindsight.

He wasn't here and it was done, but it plagued him on the otherwise.

-------

By the third day, Mamoru had felt empty. His lonesome stewardship having continued throughout the day and night. Usagi had stayed with him that first night, returning to his apartment. As he had healed her, as they had healed each other. Wounds are not just of the visible sort, physical, and what they had seen lingered on into the cold predawn light. The next day, he had walked her home, sensing her family where now foremost in her mind. They had skirted the field of carnage, protecting her from the pain she felt as he did, whereupon he had returned himself and stood to watch over the aftermath. What he saw in the stark unyielding dawn appeared to be from a science fiction movie come to life, yet harsher and more permanent than an image made from pixels and vectors. Slowly they had gathered, men, women, and children. All had come to bear witness and shed tears for the fallen. Hours passed in their vigil. Alone of these individuals, Mamoru knew the truth.

Then the media machine had began, spilling out theories and counter-theories, explanations and defamation's. Absurdity packed upon possibility until the entire situation was reduced to a feeding frenzy, reporters outdoing each other, or at least attempting too, vying for the inside story, or a new angle on the tragedy.

It made him sick. Human tragedy reduced to a sales pitch.

Yet the newspapers found their way into his hands more often than not. Empty facts with which to fill his head because the reality was too much.

And the reality couldn't be escaped. Out his window over the balcony and into the city, it was a scar on existence, mourning loss, bearing tribute.

The death toll was finally announced late on that third day. Ami had been off on her calculations, sadly, as her estimate was lower. In his shunting mind it seemed ironic that when it had really mattered she had been wrong. Sixty-seven fatalities plus thirty-nine wounded. It was a price that Mamoru wished he could have negated, however unlikely, by just being there in wait. Did he regret the spell, bringing back the powers to their rightful owners? In light of the resulting effect, yes he did. But it was done and it couldn't be changed.

Right and wrong. Based solely on a viewpoint. But it was always that way wasn't it. You just never realised till it mattered to you. Till you could bring it from deep within to assuage guilt, or at least attempt to.

Maybe the fact they had forced the monster to reveal itself at less than full strength had saved lives.

Maybe he was deluding himself.

But as his eyes scanned down the list of unfortunates, he realised that while for most the lesson would pass in time, unlearnt or ignored, for others it would bear great impact both present and future.

Loved ones gone, never to return.

He had believed that life was pain for so long. Pain that could be escaped in sleep or at the bottom of a bottle. But he knew now that through pain came strength and vigilance. But to these people, it wasn't enough.

Reasoning. There was none behind it. It didn't mean anything, not a damn fucking thing and yet, scholars, scientists and everybody else had an opinion. For most, it was too late for reason. Action called.

He knew some on the list. Several of the victims were students he had attended classes with at sometime or another. He didn't know them well, which made the waste seem greater. All the people here, they could have offered the world something intangible and equally great but now they were gone. He knew but one name on the list well, and he would have called him friend.

Paler than he had been, he dropped the newspaper and dialled the number, his finger automatically stabbing at the numbers, disjointed and clumsy.

The paper landed, creasing slightly with its downward momentum. Amidst the list of names, one had stood out to Mamoru as if embossed.

Gurio Umino.

-------

The wind bit with an icy chill as she looked from the temple down the road. It was such a waste. It wasn't meant to happen, not now, not here, not ever. She was supposed to protect everybody but had been lost in trying to help her friends regain themselves when she could have been averting that.

No mind that the devastation had taken minutes to occur, the time taken to run down the street and into the chaos. It wasn't right. It just wasn't fair. Not fair at all.

So she had come here, to this place of worship. To ask why. She already knew why. To ask why, why it had been allowed to happen. Yes, that was it. She was supposed to save the world yet she couldn't even save a small corner of it.

She blamed herself.

Would others blame her as well?

Did they already?

-------

Crackling and wavering in its deep bed, the Great Fire offered comfort with its warmth and presence but it was lost upon the young woman before it. She could feel it, spread across the city like a blanket, dark and cloying. Pain. Disbelief. Horror. And that hint of denial that follows on the heels of disaster; that it couldn't happen, not to us, not to them, not in today's world.

And in that miasma of dark emotion, she could feel out her comrades, each dealing with it in their own way, lost amidst a sea of confusion.

Shutting themselves off, ignoring it like it was a bad dream, embracing the guilt that came with their negligible victory and just carrying on with their lives.

Carrying on. Like humans always did. They mourned and they rebuilt. As it was broken down, so inevitably it would be built back up.

Was it futile? Was it a waste of time to repair what would eventually be torn down once more?

No.

It was a way of mourning. Washing the physical scars away while carrying the loss in their minds.

And as Rei touched the emotion, so close and real, even without the psychic abilities both inherent and learned, she felt better than she had in days. They would learn and they would survive and then they would triumph.

-------

Like mother, like daughter. In the aftermath of the destruction of a segment of downtown Tokyo, due to "unidentified terrorist action", she had done what she always did. She had found out the needy and the hurt and had offered her skills and her heart.

The accident and emergency ward of Juuban Hospital had been understaffed for many months now, and with such a tragedy it had become all the more apparent with rooms for the patients to bleed in quietly but with not enough doctors to stem that bleeding.

And like the calling it was said to be, the students came. Surgical, medical, psychological, all rallied to the place that they were needed most, following the unwanted but heartfelt leadership of Ami Mizuno and Urawa Ryou.

And with the influx of the one hundred and six victims, plus the scores of superficial wounds, the understaffed medico's were happy for the general assistance. And because of legality, general included, listening to the tears, comforting the heartbroken and performing orderly duties.

Fast-tracking a plea through the Japanese Medical Council, the dawn after the night of horror saw the more advanced students performing alongside the doctors and nurses they aspired to be ranked amongst, still the stories of the day before echoing in the minds.

In was in this form that Urawa and Ami became aware, during the aftermath of extraction, the nature of pain as it impacted upon their friends.

-------

Michiru's mirror lay shrouded on the bedroom dressing table across from her, as she lay quietly in Haruka's arms.

Its glass, they had stared at it for hours afterwards and all it bore witness to was the pain in Michiru's heart, the mirror casting itself into the dying moments of a multitude of souls.

Now, exhausted, dreams having left her body she slept, her blonde partner, wrapped about her lithe form, strong chin on aquamarine curls.

The sword hat had been laid next to the aforementioned mirror seemed to twitch, its shape oscillating like a mirage as the fist of its wielder clenched and unclenched slowly in the darkened room, unshed tears welling in her eyes.

-------

Several doors down the hallway; the stillness of reflection was marked in the younger girl that also dwelt with them. In the same position she had been several days before, it would seem that she hadn't moved, crossed-legged on her bed, the Glaive Of Silence across her knees, tears on her cheeks and shirt.

-------

Minako and Mako sat quietly in the dining room of the Hikawa Shrine. There was little that either could offer at present. At the hospital they would be underfoot and all they could really do was talk to the patients and help with the general running of things such as cleaning and maintenance. But to both, it seemed more like spitting in the face of someone they had just beaten. Guilt, more than anything kept them away. As much from each other as everyone in general.

Minako had had her terrified parents on the telephone; halfway through a business trip she didn't remember them leaving for. She assured them she was fine. Yes, she had been home that night. No, the police thought it was an isolated incident. Don't come home on my behalf.

Minako didn't want them calling their trip short. But she didn't want to be alone in the dark when the feelings overcame her either.

And Minako and Mako continued to sit quietly, the many unspoken questions and fears left unsaid. Was it their fault? Of course not, yet it hurt nonetheless. And as such, the Senshi dealt with it as each saw fit individually.

And now they worried over the friend they shared. Unconscious from that same attack; dormant in a hospital bed.

-------

The darkness was complete in the nowhere place. He had failed, and she had found mercy in her black heart. Mercy; if not forgiveness. He had to endure the dark, endure the span of no time, suspended between a heartbeat until she released him. He had shown anger, betraying the cause and being prompted through violence to act early. But she was pleased. He had managed to show that youma and demon could become one being, commingling into a powerful entity. He had been given power and had unwittingly passed his kind into an eternity of bondage and breeding far beyond the evils of Metallia.

Sugilite writhed in the dark. No ostentatious self anointed royal title for him now, he reflected darkly. But he had accomplished the second task. Ahead of schedule but complete nonetheless. From her ancient prison she listened and with her travels she had learnt much. Grief was a tool, as was anger. Using such a tool would be her greatest triumph and their greatest tragedy.

He did not care. He knew what he would do. He would escape. He would build his power in secret and destroy them and her and become the ultimate power in the universe. The princling had been lucky. It would not go the same the next time. Endymion and his harem of Senshi bitches would pay with their lives. He would feed on them all until he could feed no more, then he would...

Well, then he would do as his nature dictated.

The demon-youma licked his pale white lips, his dark tongue leaving a trail of viscous saliva behind it.

-------

"Wake up, Jack!"

The persistent noise wasn't going away and was steadily increasing in pitch. It was irritating enough to be distracting but not enough to make his ears bleed.

Rather disgruntled at being woken, he rolled over to look at the nuisance. Off the top of his head, he couldn't remember the teal green haired woman in jeans and shirt. In fact, he couldn't remember much of anything besides his name.

"What?" While impolite, it was the first response that sprung to his rather empty braincase.

The woman look relived about something, her face brightening as she settled down on the bed beside him. Aside for a creeping familiarity, Jack still couldn't say he knew her.

"I'm glad you're awake. I was worried. After you slipped the other day, the doctor said you should be fine."

"Fine nothing," he replied. "Just exactly what am I doing here and who are you?"

The woman looked perplexed but answered the question like she was pacifying a petulant child, "My name is Setsuna, you are Jack and you are an exchange student living here with me."

That at least made sense. He could dimly recollect something now about coming to Japan and meeting this woman. Other questions jumped forward now that the more critical had been addressed.

"Slip? Living? I must have knocked my brains about, because I don't really remember much."

This woman seemed to make him feel comfortable for some reason, he judged that normally he would have been more upset but she seemed to exude a calm that was contagious.

"I'm your host family, so to speak. You slipped in the bathroom three days ago and banged your head on the floor. Doctor Mizuno came and while keeping you awake she determined it was a mild concussion. Obviously not mild enough though."

So it was amnesia then. Jack shrugged. So he had no real identity, was in a foreign country and had already managed to nearly kill himself. Good odds.

"So, I'm a student huh? What do I study?" And with that, the conversation began.

-------

The petite redhead lay asleep in the hospital bed. She didn't really look that much different than normal to Usagi, but in retrospect she would say that Naru hadn't changed overly much since they were fourteen. But as she thought back to their friendship at fourteen and all the years before, it became painfully clear that things hadn't really been the same since that first night. There had been two transformations that night, one of Usagi into Sailor Moon, the other a youma into a doppelganger shell of Naru's mother.

The Usagi that had become a Sailor Senshi had lost touch with Naru in a lot of ways, albeit inadvertently. Usagi's choice to spend time with Naru inevitably led to chaos, either with saving the world or Naru herself. The secrecy had driven a wedge, albeit inexplicable, between them. So many times, she had been on the verge of telling Naru everything, but a quite voice had warned her off. Knowledge could be dangerous and with the accidental pain caused to Naru through the exploits of the Senshi, her knowing would most likely become a fatal condition.

Drifting. Apart, and what did Naru think the cause? That Usagi didn't love her anymore or value her as her confidant and friend?

It hurt Usagi in that being able to help others and comfort the victims; she was also unable to keep her oldest and best friend. But with recent events, she couldn't even save others. Was it even worth trying if you know you are going to fail?

And now, because of her actions, or inaction, another friend besides Naru had been lost.

Had Usagi been pessimistic and negative the thoughts of Naru's mother, Nephlyte, Naru herself, and now Umino, may have made it seem as a given that it would happen. But she didn't think that way. Or at least she hadn't until a week ago.

-------

Setsuna was quiet. The blandness of the room did little to help with any type of mood, either way. The only motion was the steady rhythm up and down of the man's chest. Real time, he hadn't moved any more than that for a month or so. His body was healed but waited for its master to return from the limbo it had journeyed too.

She cursed herself. What had, or was to occur was of gigantic proportions. Her unique position made that clear. So far because they hadn't happened per se, meant that things about her remained the same while she held the unenviable position of knowing about it beforehand, and then seeing the lines that it would flow along.

If she hadn't sent him back, chances were high that it wouldn't have happened. If she hadn't sent him back it would have been worse. It was, at its core, a lesser of two evils scenario. Loss was what it was. Loss of life for the poor beings caught in the demon-youma's path. Loss of faith in themselves for the Senshi and loss of love for the man before her, after all the time he had looked so hard to find it.

The status field about the isolation tank shimmered as it looped, constantly stuck in a reduced temporal field, passing hours in minutes and back again.

It was coming soon. The final nail in the coffin. A coffin that would seal the world away for nearly eight hundred years in the dark and cold of a silent grave.

A friend would be lost. So would love. And she could do nothing about it. She would not warn herself again. It was too risky, could throw it all to the wayside.

"Compassion and guilt, ride the same horse."

She didn't turn around. The voice was familiar. He made it seem so cut and dried even when it wasn't.

"But don't you think that's a bit of an oversimplification?"

"No. It's merely the statement of fact. Take Mamoru. He feels compassion for those killed by the demon. Both emotionally and telepathically. That sadness and love forms the guilt that he couldn't save them. Love someone or something enough and it with transpose via certain situations to guilt whether or not it is warranted or not."

"So you are saying he should not feel guilt about what he could not prevent?"

"No. I say that he should understand the delineation, as he does. Knowing that the two are separate doesn't mean it's easier to deal with."

Setsuna turned to face her son. He had shed his dark robe and stood before her in the plain body armour favoured by the male Senshi, and indeed many of the female. The fact that he stood without his cloak, a shroud against his own pain was not lost on Setsuna.

"You needn't be oblique. You're referring to Usagi and how she will deal with the situation that's about to present itself."

"Mother, you know as well as I that Usagi is a unique case in everything. She feels more than any other being. It's her nature. And while she is strong willed, it is going to be difficult for her amidst all the other things heading their way."

"That's why she has Mamoru. He's been through this crisis of faith before."

"True but his situation was different. Applying his own logic and rationale onto Usagi with be difficult."

"Still, there isn't time for soul searching, no matter the justification."

"There is always time. Semantics and arguing them has no place in this discussion. You and I both know the way in which she is going to pervert the timestreams and how it will affect Usagi. She will either crumble under the pressure or do as she has always done, rise to the task and do as she must."

"Michelas, the question is simply, why must she?"

"Because Pluto, there is nobody else who can. She knows that deep down, as do they all. Whatever provocation started the events, in this case, Gurio Umino dying, will only matter in which way the individuals involved deal with the situation based upon their past experiences and perception of the circumstances therein."

"So we just rely on the fact that she had done it before, so she will do it again," Setsuna seemed mildly dismissive, "rise to the challenge that is."

Styx half smiled. "We're only human Mum, we aren't Gods."

-------

"If this were an anime, she'd have those starry love-hearts things in her eyes."

"That bad, is she?" Rei replied to Mako's otherwise rhetorical statement.

"They have been spending a large amount of time together. Although I don't blame her. Or him really. They suit each other. Compliments."

Makoto and Rei looked sidelong at Ami. It had been almost a month since the attack on the Juuban downtown and for the most part, life in the city had returned to a semblance of normality. University had resumed on the third day following the tragedy and most students had returned. Usagi had been absent largely, spending time with Naru, for the first week, but after no subsequent change in the young woman's condition, she albeit reluctantly returned to lectures. As of yet, still nothing had changed in the redhead's condition.

At present, Usagi and Minako were the only Senshi not present. Usagi was at the hospital once more while Mina was attending her media studies lecture.

Ami looked over the top of the book in her hands, having abandoned the pretence of actually reading it. It silenced her two mute hecklers sufficiently.

"Besides, you two have already met him so you know what I mean. And anyway if he makes Mina-chan happy, if fail to see a problem."

"We don't have a problem with him Ami," Mako replied, glancing quickly at Rei, who nodded an affirmative, "it's just that what with all that's happening, it doesn't seem like an ideal time to be making friends."

Ami glanced at Mako again. The way the brunette had said 'friend' had carried plenty more weight and connotation.

"All the more reason. I don't need to remind you what happened to her."

"We all remember that Ami," Rei interjected, "we all remember and that's why Mako brought it up. The enemy has used the pretence of love before."

Ami and Rei both knew well that the probability of Jack being an enemy was nonexistent. They, however where in no position to let on about the unique personage know as Jack Argusson. Which was why Mako was here. While it was duplicitous and they didn't like it, they had their reasons for wanting Jack to gain distance from Mina. But in the end it was Mina's choice, providing it suited Setsuna's boundaries. And those, much like many of the Time Senshi's concerns; where not known to them.

"Mina's not stupid. And besides, Jack seems to have made her happy. Personally I'm glad that they get on so well. But if he hurts her it goes without saying. Anyway, if you two have doubts talk to Mina, or better yet Jack."

Rei and Ami both turned to Makoto. "Now that's something we can't do, Mako," Rei said. "It would hurt Mina too much and anyway if they do have something it might mess it up."

"Besides, Mina's a big girl. Chances are, it is just a subliminal manifestation of worry considering her past experiences with the opposite sex and the less than savoury outcomes."

And with that Ami had effectively killed the conversation. And despite what Makoto, Rei and Ami thought, the dinner planned for the next night involved all the girls and their significant others, plus Jack.

Ami couldn't help but think that time would tell. She shivered imperceptibly at that and wondered if Mina could ever forgive what the knowledge of identity had forced her and Rei into.

-------

Laughter, good food, good wine and good company. It struck Mamoru that the simpler things in life were usually the most beautiful. A sunset breaking through rain clouds, the gift of new life and the quiet breathing of his lover in his arms.

Yes, the simple things. And when you lived as you did, you cherished these moments. As if they were the lingering last.

Mamoru shock that thought aside. He was with friends and the horror of a month ago had more or less faded to the nightmare in the cold grip of two o'clock in the morning.

Here was the now. Friends both good and new surrounded him and it was enjoyable. The meal was almost over, only Usagi and Jack picked at the remains of the buffet before them. All others had relaxed, reclining into their chairs with arms and hands rested contentedly upon their loved ones and full stomachs.

It made Mamoru smile, this golden aftermath of food and companionship. All paired, all happy, all content.

His eyes darted over the couples he knew so well, pausing slightly on Usagi as the blonde continued to eat. Mako and Ken. Ami and Urawa. Rei and Yuuichirou.

Mina and Jack. Mamoru smiled again. Aside from himself and Usa, the others had been paired only slightly over a year. Since Galaxia and the Senshi's return; but looking at the younger couple of Jack and Mina he could swear they were the same, if not for the fact the girls often remarked on the fact they had bumped into each other a month ago. Literally.

They fit, with a cohesion that surprised not just Mamoru but everyone. And it wasn't begrudged, in fact far from it. Watchful, yes, but they all respected the need in Minako that had found Jack. Hateful spectres still lingered in their minds from the catatonia she had endured that they had been unable to foresee or prevent.

And now, even her eyes, the one thing Setsuna couldn't lift the memory from, sparkled.

-------

The final four stood at the curb side. Mamoru and Usagi turned from their farewell of the taxi ferrying Urawa and Ami away to the forms of Jack and Mina besides them.

"Well, looks like goodnight then," Usagi said, hugging Mina.

Jack extended his hand towards Mamoru, "It was good to meet you again, Mamoru. I hope we all can do this again soon."

"Yes, so do I," Mamoru replied before taking the blonde man's hand in his own.

-------

Pain. Blood. Suffering. Confusion. Two trapped together with the dominance fluctuating between the two. Sadness. Wanting to die. Waiting to die. Knowing it wasn't far away. The embrace of the cold grave.

-------

Mamoru's hand released that of Jack. "You guys parked around here, or are you walking?"

Mamoru's eyes had clouded over as he shook Jack's hand. The blonde man noticed it and a subtle tightening in the grip but whatever it was it had passed. "No, we decided that we might walk, considering how nice it is tonight."

Mina had ferreted her way under his arm and with waves and goodbyes between the four, the two blondes moved off down the sidewalk, passing between light and dark.

Usagi placed her hand on Mamoru's arm. "Are you alright Mamo-chan?"

"Fine Usagi, just had a bit of a head-rush. Lets get going."

Mamoru turned Usagi towards the car park, his mind cursing that something was going to happen with Jack. And for good or ill, he couldn't tell which.

And in the back of his mind, he shuddered. What had the young man seen that had caused the pain in his soul? Why had its scared Mamoru so much? Who was he?

-------

The room was darkened when she awoke, limp strands of early sunlight piercing the veil of the heavy curtains. She was lost, in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar noises. Unfamiliar noises which slowly resolved themselves into the deep easy breathing of someone beside her.

Turning her head, she could see Jack, his feet perched on the bed, his long legs leading back to his body, cast back in sleep upon a chair. It became clear to her that it was his bed and that he had watched over her. Hazy memories danced in her head as the dust of sleep engulfed her eyes once more.

-------

The redhead's dreams plagued her sleep like the pain of her ribs did her half-waking.

It was the same dream over and over again. The split second relay of the car flying past upside down, the flash of light as Umino pulled her down under him, the warmth of his blood on the back of her neck and the pale empty stare of his eyes as the life fled them, her name dying on his lips.

Over and over the dream danced through her head. And she couldn't shake it off. Whether or not the painkilling drugs numbed her reaction or her subconscious was torturing her, it flashed past again and again.

Again and again.

She let the pain wash over her, crippling and intense each time, not loosing its burn nor getting stronger.

And slowly the new picture made itself clear, spiralling past, inserted in the frames like a subliminal message, a face. Beautiful and angelic.

And eventually the face gained identity.

It was Usagi.

And them like before, it changed. Unnoticed at first, it grew as had its forebear, becoming again a face. Beautiful and angelic.

Sailor Moon.

And it flashed like the light that had taken Umino from her.

Usagi. Sailor Moon.

Usagi. Sailor Moon.

And the dream made itself realised. Usagi is Sailor Moon. Beautiful and angelic. And the dredges worked overtime, shuffling memories to fit the new information into the old. Maxfield, her mother. Her pains. Umino.

And it made sense to her amidst the brimstone and hellfire that scoured her mind clean of illusions and the falsity of memory. Usagi had ruined her life; Sailor Moon had ruined her life. One and the same.

The bile rose in her throat as the tears of shocked realised disbelief clouded her shuttered eyes.

-------

Again, what dim veil covered her lifted, whistling bringing her from sleep. A melodic twisting hymn full of mournful and dark tones, far away.

The light stung as it assaulted her newly opened eyes. Wincing she sat up, her arm shielding her eyes.

Jack stood in the doorway, the small platter in his arms carrying an assortment of breakfast foods. He sighed, glad that she was awake. He had awoken only an hour earlier himself, cursing that he had fallen into a dead sleep, exhausted by something his brain was still trying to rationalize now.

It made even smaller sense in the light of day.

Minako turned at the soft intake of breath. Dishevelled and stubbled he stood in the doorway, an overburdened service filled with both traditional Japanese and western foods before him.

Minako reached to the sheet that had slipped from her as she sat, pulling it to her chin.

Jack didn't bat an eyelid as he walked towards the bed and sat himself in the chair she could vaguely remember him having been asleep in earlier. Placing the tray before her, he removed a large ceramic mug, its pale brown liquid oozing steam.

"I suppose that you're wondering what happened?"

Minako nodded dumbly. Now, the haze of awakening gone, she knew herself to be clothed in t-shirt and pants, her face and arms tight and warm. She lifted on hand tentatively to her left cheek. Three thin punctured lines ran down her face.

"What's going on?"

"Well, to be honest I can't really remember much, it happened so fast," Jack winced as the lie left his mouth, "We heard someone crying in an alleyway and you wanted to see if you could help. When we found them, they, it, attacked you."

"It," she merely stated it, as last night slowly coalesced in her head. She also knew, but couldn't explain how, deep down and cold, that he was lying to her.

"You hit your head on the wall of the alley and I chased the street kid off. Because I didn't know what to do, I brought you here where my host mother could look after you and tend you. She left afterwards to get some bandages and things but I haven't seen her since."

It made him feel ill. He knew that it wasn't a street kid and he was just as equally sure he had no other concept of what it could have possibly been. But he wanted to forget it. Minako was fine, the cuts and bruises weren't bad and he was sure that whatever it was, it wasn't gong to make any sort of repeat performance. He shuddered, the feeling he had felt at that moment surging over him once more. Broken from his self-torment, he found Mina looking at him.

"Thank you," she said softly and with a sense of hesitation in her voice. Slowly what small pieces she could pick out fell into place. What she knew was that it was a youma, not some street urchin that had attacked her, off guard and unmindful of the danger that had been dogging them for the last month, even in the quiet of normality. And she had paid the price for her mistake. And it was likely that Jack may have as well. But if her addled memories served, it was small and had ambushed her. Most likely it had expected her alone. But had it been larger or paired with another, Jack would most likely be...

Minako shuddered herself, her eyes beginning to tear as she realised just what he was beginning to mean to her.

Jack startled as her eyes watered, moving from his chair and sloshing his coffee as he perched beside her, his arm lightly wrapping itself around her shoulder.

"Shhh, shhh, it's alright honey. It's alright. Hold me now."

And whatever damn she had tapped broke, fear, denial, anger and pain welling up and bursting forth, her head on his shoulder.

-------

Setsuna had cursed when Jack had come home, an unconscious and bloodied Minako over his shoulder. Thankfully the young man just assumed it a reaction to the predicament, not one of shock and recognition.

Quickly summing up the situation, she sent the boy to fetch water and antiseptic, changed the girl out of the alley soiled clothes and began to tend her wounds, all the while the heavy paced tread of Jack echoing from the hallway.

Setsuna had asked him to watch her while she went to get some more medicine, which in his worry he failed to question, before slipping out the apartment and that precise moment in time.

What little she had picked from Mina's unconscious mind and Jack's fast paced confusion revealed enough for her to locate the exact place she wished. And as she watched, it became clear that luck had most definitely been a factor. The youma had not regarded Jack as a threat, and as intent as it was on Minako, its haunting whisper carrying through the night, it had proved its undoing.

And now Setsuna faced the added dilemma of his awakening to his powers without his memories. And she was afraid. This was not the time for a renegade, nor as it appeared from her reconnaissance, the interference of another time walker.

-------

Minako and Jack walked hand in hand through the white sterility of Juuban Hospital. Minako was beginning to get frustrated. Since they had entered the large building, the man on her arm had fidgeted ceaselessly, his eyes darting back and forth like a caged animal.

"What is it!" She almost snapped, breaking him from whatever memory intruded upon the moment. He almost looked guilty.

"I, I just feel really uncomfortable here. Like something bad is going to happen, or already has. I don't like hospitals."

"If you didn't want to come with me, I would have understood. You don't know Naru, and I wasn't aiming to make you uncomfortable." She softened. He had shown very little in the way of idiosyncrasies, and she could understand his feelings. Hospitals were not just a place of healing but a place where death walked the halls, searching those who awaited his embrace.

"Its fine," Jack replied, tightening his grip on her hand. "I'm probably just being weird or something, it's no matter."

Minako smiled at him as they continued their trek through the halls towards the room marked simply as 204.

Before the door Mina stopped, taking a deep breath. Usagi had said nothing much had changed in the time Naru had been here. It seemed strange to Mina that the girl she knew to be so vibrant and lively could be asleep, trapped in her own mind. And it hurt her to think that Umino and Naru would never share a future together, that she had only recently begun to dream was even remotely possible for herself.

Minako quietly pushed the heavy door open, the dull bleeping and hum of machinery like insects filling the air.

Minako stepped slowly into the room, her heart filling with emotion at the sight of the emaciated girl on the bed before her, wires and tubes laced about her. She turned to motion Jack into the room, but stopped short as her eyes met the panic that rose up within his own.

Clenched, his white knuckled hand gripped the doorjamb, steadying him as he swayed, his eyes fixated upon the redhead before him. The colour drained from his face as he stumbled backwards, his mouth moving silently, before he righted himself and disappeared down the corridor.

Stunned, Minako moved towards the opening he had just vacated, in time to hear his heavy boots ringing in his mad dash away from the room, and away from her.

-------

Having finally crept up on him, back into his mind, he had stayed away from her. It had hurt him, moving away from the one thing that seemed to have any meaning, both to him as Jack and now to him as Naydar. And like an addict, whose dependency is the lifeline and definition of their reality, he found himself outside her door.

Foggily he knew that her parents were in England still, some lost part of his mind informed him so. And considering what else this mind had told and proven, he was willing to work on a little faith.

But he couldn't help but fear, half in and half out of his consciousness that she wouldn't feel the same.

He knocked on the plain door before him. For its seeming impassability it could have been a cliff face or the Doors of Time themselves.

Several seconds passed, before the sounds reached his ears. Quiet shuffling, stopping just behind the door and the tight grind of metal on metal as the door handle bent down.

The door opened, the thick chain halting its passage some six inches across. It was several more seconds before her face filled the gap.

Her eyes were bloodshot, puffy with the crying she had been previously engaged in, the dark rings beneath making her seem like a shade from the underworld.

He simply looked into her eyes.

"You haven't called for days." Minako made it sound like an accusation.

"I haven't been myself for days," was his desired response but he settled for a safer course.

"I'm sorry."

It didn't seem to work as her eyes hardened. So far whatever plan he had held in the back of his mind went screaming out the window.

"It's been a hard couple of days. I, I have found some stuff out that hasn't really been the kinda thing you wanna talk about."

His face conveyed sorrow to her, but her eyes remained hard. Jack sighed. He had known that honesty was the best policy, yet the truth can hurt. It had sure as hell hurt him. He had thought he knew who he was and now he was in a situation where he had been faced with the fact it was all a lie and construction over an unbelievable truth. And he knew how to get her to open the door and let him in out of the rain.

"Venus, please, just hear me out."

The door had closed.

**LOVING STARS**

**Prologue - Us Apart From Love**

_"I feel like no-one ever told the truth to me_

_About growing up and what a struggle it would be_

_In my tangled state of mind_

_I've been looking back to find_

_Where I went wrong"_

_Queen - "Too Much Love Will Kill You" - Made In Heaven_

-------

Naydar Tenoh cursed his ill luck. Again his temper had gotten the better of him and sent him to this lonely piece of dust that he would have to call home for the next five years. He blamed that sneering Martian totally. Hino had baited him and prodded him. He had even warned the red head off. Still he had persisted and Naydar had lost his control and thrown him through a wall. He had realised immediately what he had done and had even been waiting in the teleportation room for his punishment to be administered. Thankfully Serenity had been gracious enough to send the Lady Jupiter to enforce it rather than his antagonist's mother or as she was more often known, The Lady Mars.

Again this blasted rock, its almost sterile comforts apart from the greater comings and goings of the Crystal Millennium. Still, even the isolation was better than seeing Chiro Hino vindicated. His damn attitude 'Mr.-Fucking-Big-Shot-Know-It-All-Pretty-Boy' had been annoying for the last three hundred years and was likely to stay annoying. At least he got peace and quiet out here to think about what had really upset him.

Himself.

He galled himself to no end. It annoyed him that he was so big, so impending and that his parents were royalty. He felt out of place, the otherwise svelte Senshi and their offspring wandering the halls of the palace and him lumbering along somewhere behind, like a rockslide of flesh. He was uncomfortable with himself, different in bearing and manner. He was quick to speak, slow to think about what he had said (which was invariably past tense at that point), putting his foot in it and back-pedalling out of it like a small child. Apologetic even when he was right and frustrated he wasn't seen as anything more than a lumbering bulwark of destruction. And from every corner of the galaxy they came, the girls, woman, and even on occasion; their mothers, begging for an invitation, audience or such other nonsense.

And invariably he would cock that up, either by being there or by being himself, acting stupid or some such, when really he was nervous and trying to do the right thing.

The right thing had ended him up here again.

And he knew that Chiro Hino was laughing all the way to the bank with it. He could almost swear he could hear him from way out here.

Naydar Tenoh cursed his luck again. And several other things beside.

-------

Aino Minako had managed to evade her legion of admirers. The fine arts course coupled with her amateur modelling had made her something of an 'Aphrodite' around campus. Not that it bothered her; in fact the term was quite amusing. However it all seemed hollow to her. Since the incident with Adonis, (or Ace, Danburite or whoever) prior to her becoming aware of the other Senshi, and the further revelation about her, Kunzite and their past, all attempted relationships had failed. While she was still outgoing and bubbly, it was now tempered with a cautious watchfulness.

Watching for what?

Minako however, for all her watching, had not managed to find a boyfriend. She was okay with this surprisingly. Often she would catch herself crying that she, Vassal of Venus, as she was, could not find a mate. But she had learnt patience. She watched all the male companionship she needed at present, curled up against his 'intended'. The white fur and black fur like a pile of lint. She giggled.

She had helped the others find love, her turn would come.

But quietly, the melancholic corner of her mind asked herself one single thing, "When?"

-------

Best intentions are just that, intentions. Meaning well often doesn't tend rightly as it often goes against the grain on what other people may believe was right. Yet each situation is different.

Naydar was depressive at the best oftimes. Exuberance and over-eagerness indelibly mixed with a tendency to be negative and bleakly pessimistic even in the best of situations. Because of this; the only people who really knew him where his more immediate family. His sisters and their parents accepted him as he was, giving, generous, far too trusting and often clumsy in a social context. That said, the size of his heart made everything better, him acting as negotiator and trying to not offend anyone.

Sadly, he more often offended himself. Not speaking his mind had led to many an incident where he was pushed into a situation he didn't wish to be in or would rather had been standing opposite. His over trusting manner had led to his being used on several occasions, which hurt him deeply. And after several centuries of this, trust left home and a cold exterior was built around his warm heart. While still generous and a peacemaker, he refused contact besides when absolutely necessary. This social standoffishness had made him even more a target, especially combined with the courtship and marriage offers, which were either denied, or retracted. Over time, he became the black sheep of the Crystal Millennium, rumour and speculation thrusting an unwarranted mantle upon his broad shoulders.

His unpredictability and mood swings would eventually culminate at inconvenient points in time. For example; his present situation. Being baited by Chiro Hino had simply topped off an otherwise irritating year, which eventually climaxed in his exile and the palace needing repairs.

Afraid of being hurt and being misunderstood for that fear, he had become a recluse. Alone and apart from his peers, unconditional love had passed him by. Not wanting to force the issue, as always, he let any chance opportunities slip by.

There was of course that one person he had managed to connect to; random chance and circumstances had thrown them together. Death had taken her away before they had even known what it was.

Out here in the void you could remember things, wrap your memories around you like a blanket of dashed and shattered dreams and no one could pull you out, save you from the smothering confines of your regrets and fears. Save you from yourself.

The result was a lonely man.

-------

Minako sat. Luna waited. Minako finally, the pain overwhelming her calm and cheerful exterior broke like a damn, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"I am so lonely, Luna!" she wailed, her knees now against her chest, the sobs muffled against her knees.

"Oh dear," muttered Luna and placed her paw against Minako's leg.

-------

Luna had finally managed to get some sense from Minako. While she had thought that this was serious, she didn't understand to the extent. Minako couldn't really hide anything from Luna in this state, whatever natural psychic barriers she had were down and Luna could feel the depression, doubt and self loathing the girl felt, overshadowed by feelings of loneliness, grief and worthlessness.

It shocked Luna deeply, that Minako, one of the stronger Senshi, could feel this bad about herself and somehow hide it from them all, and Usagi even, who had empathic ties to all her soldiers.

This was far too big for Luna alone to handle.

-------

Imagine how Minako felt. Love was something she held so much of, wearing it for all to see. Love of life, love of fun, love of friendship; love for the sheer fact of love itself. And it was killing her heart that it was unrequited by a single person. A single person she didn't even know, and had never meet, let alone seen. An elusive someone, a someone she believed with her whole heart, breaking as it was; out there somewhere, who would complete her, make her more than she was, make her stronger, return that same love unfailingly and without hesitation. A romantic notion, possibly unfounded, that her whole being believed in.

Belief creates gods and monsters. An absence or lack of that same belief can also kill then.

**Chapter One - Empty Me**

_"Reaching out for something you've got to feel_

_While clutching at what you had thought was real_

_Kicking at a dead horse pleases you_

_No way of showing your gratitude_

_So many things you don't want to do_

_What is it? What have you go to lose"_

_Metallica - "The Struggle Within" - Metallica (The Black Album)_

-------

Nervousness seemed to encompass him like a blanket. Struggling with the rising panic and the heat, he sat up. Alone, the cool room dark behind its' drawn curtains. Motes of dust danced before his eyes in the lone ray that sliced through the hastily drawn cloth.

The figure shook his head. It seemed to ring hollowly back at him, like it was several sizes to big. He felt empty, drained, yet complete in a way he hadn't experienced for, (or at least as his body told him) was a long time.

Staring dully about the room, his blue brown eyes vacant with the dregs of sleep, things slotted back into place. Awake, was the first; male, the second, judging by the feeling near his waist; and day as third, considering the sparse filtered light.

Other than that he was drawing a blank. Out of options, he lay back down, rolled over and went to sleep.

-------

"Wake up, Jack!"

The persistent noise wasn't going away and was steadily increasing in pitch. It was irritating enough to be distracting but not enough to make his ears bleed.

Rather disgruntled at being woken, he rolled over to look at the nuisance. Off the top of his head, he couldn't remember the teal green haired woman in jeans and shirt. In fact, he couldn't remember much of anything besides his name.

"What?" While impolite, it was the first response that sprung to his rather empty braincase.

The woman look relived about something, her face brightening as she settled down on the bed beside him. Aside for a creeping familiarity, Jack still couldn't say he knew her.

"I'm glad you're awake. I was worried. After you slipped the other day, the doctor said you should be fine."

"Fine nothing," he replied. "Just exactly what am I doing here and who are you?"

The woman looked perplexed but answered the question like she was pacifying a petulant child, "My name is Setsuna, you are Jack and you are an exchange student living here with me."

That at least made sense. He could dimly recollect something now about coming to Japan and meeting this woman. Other questions jumped forward now that the more critical had been addressed.

"Slip? Living? I must have knocked my brains about, because I don't really remember much."

This woman seemed to make him feel comfortable for some reason, he judged that normally he would have been more upset but she seemed to exude a calm that was contagious.

"I'm your host family, so to speak. You slipped in the bathroom three days ago and banged your head on the floor. Doctor Mizuno came and while keeping you awake she determined it was a mild concussion. Obviously not mild enough though."

So it was amnesia then. Jack shrugged. So he had no real identity, was in a foreign country and had already managed to nearly kill himself. Good odds.

"So, I'm a student huh? What do I study?" And with that, the conversation began

-------

Setsuna Meioh was relieved. He had obviously suffered at the hands of the nega-demon, his body healing with the strength of his Senshi altered genetics yet from what she could gather from their conversation, the Naydar part of him had disappeared, or more correctly, shut down. The blow to the head he had received had obviously damaged his brain more than his body, the latter healing over the weeklong stay in bed. Relief washed over her in the fact that obviously while sleeping Crius was still present, the healing besides, and now, unable to risk himself in the coming conflict. While Endymion was able to best the creature, it had managed to escape, placing all the Senshi on alert. Out of the way, he would also be unable to reveal the full extent of the future's trouble. While Setsuna herself had some slight idea, and her future self had given the other Senshi a name to work with, she feared that such as strike as he had taken, could have unrattled the previously buried parts of Naydar's trauma. His inability to remember the actual reasoning and events had been beneficial considering his agitated state before the battle, and now they were locked away. The timeline could now not be influenced through his actions.

Confounding was the fact the Jack Argusson entity had resumed control. Despite being a residual memory, or soul, the original inhabitant of the body had taken over, albeit simply a personality and identity, its memories and such clouded by what she had conveniently prescribed as amnesia. Thankfully the original host was unaware of the bodies increased powers. If it had been aware, the potential for mishap would increase; a battle trained Senshi body with two thousand years experience piloted by a hormonal teenager with no training.

-------

Minako awoke, her neck stiff and uncomfortable. She pushed the memory aside. It was enough to still be haunted by the physical scars, let alone the emotional ones. Lying still, her eyes fixated on the ceiling, she could feel a slightly warmer spot near her feet, but the usual pressure accompanying it was absent.

She frowned. Since his return, Artemis had been almost reluctant to leave her side. He had also been more affectionate than usual, sitting in her lap whenever he could and rubbing against her legs while she walked around the house. It was a nuisance at times but she enjoyed the attention. He hadn't been like this since he had first arrived in her life, and only before he had made it known that he could vocalize as well as, if not better than she.

Minako sighed. Classes beckoned and she had equally little desire to get up or flunk. Taking the lesser of two evils she moved her feet to the floor and sat up on the edge of her bed. Her overly large nightshirt was comfortable and warm, but not a good choice for class. Sighing again and fingering her neck lightly she stood and went towards her closet, a high necked but loose fitting top ideal.

-------

Artemis sat on the windowsill looking in on his ward. He turned as she began to undress and prepare for school. He cursed himself and his leaving with Mamoru. It was necessary, which only served to rankle him more. Mamoru needed the connectivity with his planet and ultimately it had saved them. Sadly though, he had been away from Minako when she most needed him. Despite Setsuna's claims he would have been unnoticed, it hurt him that he hadn't been able to be there, just be there.

A chill breeze ruffled through his fur, sending a shiver down his back. Now he knew how Mamoru had felt nine months ago. Unable to protect the ones he loved. For the first time in one thousand years, since he had awoken in the cold of night-time France, he regretted the ability to become human.

But that was a thought and burden for another day. Minako wasn't sleeping well, her body struggling against some ethereal phantom that haunted her slumber. He needed to see Setsuna and ask if a gentle probe to find the cause would disrupt the work done in bringing her back to them.

And that was why he had left before she had awoken. If he had waited until she turned her blue eyes on him, the guilt would have kept him at her side another day. It hurt like hell.

-------

Jack stumbled through the morning's activities, cleaning, dressing and breakfast. It was all new and strange although he did them all effortlessly. This amnesia trip was a blast, he told himself. He couldn't remember what he had been like beforehand but he knew all the basics of life, like speech and other things most people take for granted. The kicker was that he could reinvent himself. Without memories to condition his behaviour to his established norm he was essentially a blank template. A new man. It was thrilling that he had discovered himself and could now go about discovering who he was. He longed to go outside and look around the city.

Which was where he ran into trouble. He had determined early on that Setsuna wasn't one that liked to be messed with and she had made it clear that he was under her responsibility while out from the shadow of his parents, and would do as dictated. The map had been an interesting sideline, as he looked about at the relevant landmarks and locations he would need to commit to memory. The University was the first, and as Setsuna stated, most important. Other places of note where the Tokyo Tower, Juuban Shopping Centre and the Crown Arcade.

All these places seemed interesting. Jack found he had a hunger to fill his rather empty head as much as his equally vacant stomach.

When Setsuna finally let him go, cellphone and map in hand, he found his excitement had given way to the nervousness he had felt upon waking. Still, he had nothing better to do, or in his case; he couldn't remember if he did.

-------

Minako stepped off the bus outside the University administration building. It was earlier than she had planned to arrive, what with her first class at about midday, but she could always study at the Library. Chances are Ami would be there as well, and she could us the company. It felt strange without Artemis this morning. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but the companionship had made her feel stronger and livelier than she had felt in quite some time.

It made her half-heartedly wonder at the feelings that having boyfriends evoked in the other girls. She dismissed it as whimsy; the thought just drifting away, almost as it halted in mid-spark. Shouldering her black satchel, she moved off towards the main courtyard.

**Chapter Two - Once**

_"And the truth is baby you're all that I need _

_I want to lay you on a bed of roses _

_For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails _

_I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is _

_And lay you down on bed of roses"_

_Bon Jovi - "Bed Of Roses" - Crossroads_

-------

The earth rose slowly above the rim of the moon, the reflected light from Sol casting it in an eerie blue green light. Under its suffuse glow, the young girl-woman sat; her blue eyes upward at its radiance. She could imagine seeing him, below and above her look up at her nocturnal perch and smiling. She smiled back. And worried.

It was a savage world. Uncultured and untamed. The crucible of creation had spilled over, war and rage covering the lands. Bands of murders, thieves and brigands erected civilizations over the ashes of those they had torn down, only to have their own works put to fire and the sword by larger bands of murders, thieves and brigands. Cycling, it was civilization borne of violent intrusion and induction.

She sighed, her long blonde hair moving with her shoulders. So unlike her own world. Twinned like ivy, the same yet different. Her world looked violent, but was beautiful beneath the dark clouds, this one stunningly peaceful to the eye but angry inside.

And he was there. On that orb of sapphire and emerald splendor with its sharp brittle surface.

The unheard companion watched her quietly.

Her rich orange dress pooled beneath her on the tree limb. She sat high above the ground, her eyes cast towards the orb of Terra, Planet Earth. Her blonde hair had several snarls in it, branches and leaves from the tree, twinned in its golden mass. Red as blood, the ever-present ribbon crowned her like a halo. Milky pink skin paled as she looked longingly into the skies, her heart set on something far away and out of reach.

His heart rose to his throat as he spoke.

"The stars always remind me that we are so small and meaningless against their canvas. We worry, feud and war; yet in the end, our pains and joys are just a play before their grandeur. They keep me humble. They keep me human. Weak and afraid. I try to better myself, yet they still shine down. Unchanging as all changes beneath their gaze. They give us hope. And we in turn adore them from afar."

The young woman had frozen at his voice, seemingly coming from the empty air, tears springing forth in her eyes. He was always the romantic, melodramatic but loving everything on offer. His heart.

It wasn't until she heard him step towards her perch that she turned towards him, branches and leaves again accumulating in her gilded tresses.

He stood below her, looking up into her lapis lazuli eyes, tears glinting like tiny jewels on her cheeks.

"But those stars pale when I look into your eyes."

He had thought that a bit much but nonetheless, she pushed herself from the bough and into his waiting arms. Held aloft, she looked back into his equally blue eyes.

"The stars in your gaze give me hope."

Their lips met in a silent embrace.

-------

The second unobserved watcher gripped his sword hilt firmer. Firm enough that his knuckles cracked as they whitened. Thankfully he was far enough away to remain unheard; unthankful, that he had seen the exchange. Adonis cursed silently to himself. It was unfitting for such a display and such affection on the part of the Terran. His mistress was the royal apparent of Venus, Princess and bearer of the Venus Crystal. She was above this lowborn soldier, yet somehow he had managed to entreat her with soft words and had been accepted by her as a suitor. It was insufferable that he, a nobleman, be ignored in place of this talentless earthling.

Adonis was a power being, he had discovered so early on in his life. While less powerful by far than the mage lords, he was head and shoulders above the pathetic human his princess was embracing.

His Princess. Yes, that was what she was, his. He was of her Royal Bodyguard, charged with protecting her against all threats. He believed the man before him to be a threat. Not just for the Princess and her honour but for the Venusian House also, whether it be in deed or seed.

This liaison could not be allowed to continue.

-------

"You requested me come, Lord Adonis"

Adonis looked up from his desk. The blonde Terran guardsman stood at attention before him. The man was the portrait of a subordinate, yet to Adonis's eyes it seemed a mockery and an insult.

"Lord Guardian, thank you for promptly calling. I wish your counsel in a most grievous matter." The words stung his tongue but the man continued as he rose from his seat and circled his desk to stand beside the guardsman.

"Do you think it not dangerous and improper that a Princess be fraternizing with a lowborn commoner?"

The Lord Guardians eyes widened and his pulse quickened. Somehow he had been found out. But she had schooled him in what to say, the appropriate response, as the law dictated.

"I believe that in such a case, the highborn noble in question would be able to make a decision based on their own heart, as propriety and decency are the decree of the higher caste."

Chew on that, he thought as an afterward. Princess Minako had warned him of Adonis and his constant attempts to become her suitor. Her father had denied it on the grounds of her age, yet even he knew the almost religious regard in which Adonis held his daughter. It was whispered of, this enamour, and its unsettling nature.

Adonis seethed. "True as that may be, a gentleman is responsible for the standing of his lady and is driven to defend her honour. How, pray tell, can he protect that honour when he in fact is the one that has besmirched it in the outset."

Adonis waited. He knew that this guardsman was renowned for his skill and wisdom on the battlefield but equally respected for his anger. He just needed to prod that anger to fruition.

"True as you speak, Lord, yet the lady has the right to choose; if it comes to it, love over honour. One exists to please others, the other to please oneself."

The Lord Guardian had yet to admit any fault, nor play his anger onto the field.

"But love exists in many forms. Family may love but also respect that honour. How would the family and its standing fare in the eyes of the common man?"

"Common," said the guard. "That is the crux of it, is it not Lord Adonis." Poison dripped from his tongue. "You feel that the lowborn has no right to cast their eyes up to the lovely highborn. Especially in the case where such looks are returned; albeit, not returned to you."

"I dislike you tone, soldier. Address me in apology and I will see fit to dismiss you from my sight."

"No, I will not apologise." The guardsman barked. "You are a self-righteous man, indignant and conceited, driven by your own petty desires and will, not the benefit of she whom you swore fealty to protect. Plus, I am not you soldier to command nor will I ever fall to such low station as to have a dog such as you become lord over me."

Adonis had sparked the fire and now he needed to push it to bloom.

"So the game is set. You wish to advance and place yourself above your birth, above those who by divine creed are better than you. You play on her emotions and wish to entrap her in a false betrothal."

"Never. I wish but to make her happy, a concept far removed from the selfish limitations of your twisted mind, Lord Adonis. Love is not worship, it is mutual. You are filth to her and she shall she as such, more than she does now."

Whatever pieces Adonis had stacked in his favour came tumbling down at the Lord Guardian's words. The Venusian Lord had aimed to provoke the Terran into violence, but with swift words, the earthling had turned the pieces over.

Adonis struck, his power focusing on the end of his fist, driving the guardsman over before him, clutching at his stomach. Raising his knee, Adonis felled the half-prone human to the floor, simultaneously kicking him deep in the ribs.

"Fool, you know nothing of those above you. Cower before me in filth and blood like the dog you are."

The Lord Guardsman, beaten and short of breath could but spit a reply, "Never, Lord Adonis"

Teeth clenched in rage, Adonis bent and clasped the young earthling by the back of his head, as he struggled to rise, pulling him to eye level.

"Swear loyalty to me cur, and promise that you will never disgrace her ladyship's presence again."

Coughing blood over the noble's face, he replied angrily , "Never, Lord Adonis."

Eyes positively glowing with power, Adonis slammed the guardsman's forehead to the thick oaken desk. The desk shuddered at the impact.

"Swear!"

"Never," the reply came, coughed out, broken and weak.

Again the forehead met the oaken desk.

"Swear!"

"Nhh..."

And all composure lost, the Venusian noble raised his forearm and lowered it once more, again and again, slamming the earthling's head against the desktop, cursing "Swear!" through his clenched lips.

-------

"What happened Artemis?" The man brought himself to attention, more out of respect than need. His tailored suit hugged his muscular figure, just as his close cropped goatee beard hugged his chin. Ghost white, it was a sign of wisdom as opposed to age. It was this part of the job he hated, being the bearer of bad news. Albeit bad new that everyone already knew.

"Well your Majesty, from what we can conclude at present, Lord Adonis beat the Terran Lord Guardsman against the top of his desk repeatedly, after having words with him on some unknown matter. We have established that voices were raised but aside, no reason could be found for such violent actions of the part of Lord Adonis, being that the Terran was unpowered and of a subservient position."

The functionary glossed over the obvious and simple fact that had brought the situation to bear. That, a noble of the royal Venusian house had brutally killed a human, using his powers in an act of murder against another sentient being. An edict expressly forbidden by the law of the Silver Millennia.

Queen Serenity was silent. She was aware of the feeling that Adonis had held towards the young Venusian Princess, as well as the liaison between that princess and the Guardsman from the planet below. She was also aware of the extent of the liaison and that the guardsman, being five years in senior to the fifteen year old princess had made his intentions and staked his honour to both herself and the Royal House of Venus. In fact, contrary to being on a mission to disband rebels and bandits on Earth, he had in fact journeyed to Venus to ask for the young woman's hand. Adonis was unaware of this, but still it failed to excuse his act, which went against the most stringent of Imperium laws.

"What has the Venusian House said in response?"

"Your Majesty, they have yielded to your judgement on this issue, seen as it is within our territory and a direct insult to your sovereignty."

"Very well Artemis. Due to the fact, we recorded the dimensional ripple after the act we can conclude that Adonis has fled to the Dark Kingdom. Strike his name from the registrar and name him outlaw and murderer to be hunted down and tried to fullest extent of the law. From this moment he shall be known as Danburite and enemy of the Moon Kingdom."

"As you wish m'lady. And the Princess Minako?"

"I will go to see her myself." Serenity, while businesslike, cared little about the outlaw lordling. Her concern rested solely on the girl-child that had secluded herself away with the Princess Usagi, heartbroken and wretched.

**Chapter Three - Meeting Again For The First Time**

_"There wasn't much in this heart of mine_

_There was a little left and babe you found it_

_It's funny how I never felt so high_

_It's a feeling that I know, I know I'll never forget"_

_Guns N Roses - "Think About You" - Appetite For Destruction_

-------

It seemed like a theme for the day, nervous. Here he was, in a strangle city, in a strange university with a whole lot of strange people. The strangest of all was himself. Being told he was an exchange student was fine and good, but the whole memory loss thing didn't sit right. If he did lose his memory as his host stated, then shouldn't he be speaking in the language most common to him, his first language, English? Yet here he was speaking fluent Japanese like he was born to it and reading the street signs and such like it was a common as his own reflection.

Except even his reflection seemed strange. Shouldn't it be European, rather than this half mix of European and Asiatic?

Jack bounded up the main stairs of the University; preoccupied with the beautiful city he had just left behind. The contrast of modern and traditional was counterbalanced in an almost surreal way, like he was walking around in a dream composed of interlaced photographs. He loved it, the contrast, the magic and the history that seemed to seep from the very sidewalks.

The transition through the main doorway into the foyer was again a transition for Jack. The sprawling mix of old and new transformed in the shadows to a being of form and function, the architecture a monument to cookie cut prefabrication, sterile and lifeless. Which was of course when Jack got lost.

Everything was the same, straight lines, curves, grey walls and steel. To him it seemed a pale comparison of the majesty it should have contained. How could a mind function and thrive in the grey abortiveness of this building. Walking faster, Jack exited the far end of the sense-cloying corridor into the bright sunlight of the courtyard. Leaves and greenery speckled the cobbled quadrant, benches and lawns interspersed between paths and buildings. The form was as random as the building's interior had been planned. Jack's mood lightened as the sun beat down upon the courtyard, an otherwise warm day in the nearing autumn.

Students were scattered about under trees, on benches and stretched on the lawns. It assaulted Jack with its' positively as he walked through, his eyes casting left and right. The discussions ranged from philosophy to psychology, right down to advanced mechanical physics. Half the things made little sense but the wonder and joy in the voices spoke volumes. This was academia personified. This place could make his head full again.

His eyes roving like an awestruck morlock upon his first trip above ground, Jack failed to notice the blonde woman before him. That was until he fell over her.

-------

Ami hadn't been in the Library building. Minako wasn't overly worried about it though. It was a nice day outside, the sun having crept back through the clouds after a week of absence and blustery squall. Her fellow students were lounging about the quad, which was normal for the near midday. Minako paid them little attention; her eyes downcast as she moved towards the tree that she and her friends usually seated themselves beneath.

Her forward momentum was halted as she walked into something.

Minako suddenly found herself sitting on her backside, looking at the obstruction in question. He was a youngish man, his brownish blonde hair reaching to the bottom of his ears. Rather dishevelled as it was, there was a grungish charm about it, added to by the sparse stubble on his chin. But it was his eyes that caught her. They were a deep blue, speckled with a dusting of golden brown. Sparkling and open with wonder, his gaze seemed to radiate curiosity at everything he glanced upon. Minako was so lost in their depths that she didn't notice they were fixated on her.

Jack shook his head to clear the static. Opening his eyes, they looked upon what he would only ever be able to describe monosyllabically. Pale blonde hair fell in straight waves over her shoulder, her pale skin, like alabaster tinged with rose pink. The cold had flushed her cheeks a subtle red, gently highlighting the faint freckles across the bridge of her nose. But the eyes. Lapis lazuli and sparkling like clear, clean ice water.

And that's how it continued for some time. How much time, neither could say, but when the sun moved behind an errant cloud the mood broke.

Jack hoisted himself to his feet and reached a hand down towards the girl.

"Hell, I'm so sorry about that. I'm just wandering away in my own world, taking all this in. I am really sorry, it's all my fault." He didn't remove his eyes from her face however.

Minako could see him more clearly as he stood. He wasn't overly tall but was definitely not of Japanese descent. His shoulders were broad, although currently slumped and his voice was accented lightly but spoke in flawless Japanese. He was wearing what looked to be very new clothes, the store creases still running down his light blue jeans and over the shoulders of his red dress shirt. His jacket, a thick padded brown affair hung off his left shoulder, the fall knocking it askew. Thick black combat boots peeked beneath the cuffs of the jeans which where far too long for him.

As she looked down to his boots, she hid her appraisal by straightening her pants before looking up and taking his hand. He easily helped her to her feet.

Jack was speechless. Her height reached to his chest, her body hidden beneath the thick orange jersey, its high rolled neck, hiding the pale skin from her chin down. Black slacks cover the lower half of her body, visible only below the knee low hem of the jersey. She wore simple black boots, which tapered at the toe.

An uncomfortable silence followed before the two realised they were staring at each other. As they both blushed scarlet; Jack shook his head, moistened his tongue and spoke, "I am so sorry. Please accept my apologies Miss."

Mina found it hard to think. Something clicked in the back of her head, something meaningful, but out of reach. She smiled.

"No, I apologise, it was my fault. I should have been looking where I was going."

Jack resisted the strong urge to say that he was glad she hadn't been watching where she was going. It seemed inappropriate, so he smiled back.

Mina smiled wider. This guy was polite, and not the usual type of guy she chased. Not that he was ugly either, or to bulky, or to rugged. Not that it mattered overly much. She could almost feel the waves of kindness coming from him. And to her, at this time somehow, that was what mattered more. She had had enough trouble with pretty boys and bishounen in the past, her mind told her.

"Um, I feel really bad about it, I mean, I am kinda big, and well, um, would you like me to carry your bag for you or something?"

Mina wasn't expecting that. She stammered at bit on her answer. It was like a cheesy cliché out of some American teen movie.

The guy looked crushed. He bent to retrieve his bag and turned before Mina could cough out her reply.

"Ur, yes. I mean, if you want too."

The man turned back to her, his eyes questioning as he came closer and reached down to her bag. With both his and her bag in hand, he straightened and turned to Minako.

"You may want to lead the way, cos I don't have a clue where I am."

-------

Setsuna sat quietly in the apartment. Jack had left some time ago. He was acting like an overeager puppy, which of course was to be expected considering everything was new to him. Yet she worried. It was difficult to not be watching over him, vulnerable as he was. She had felt a measure of guilt the last week, with him recuperating. She had sent him here and he had nearly died due to a flaw in the base nature of the spell. She had followed him from the Time Gates as he traversed the city, until he entered the university. Once there, Rei and Ami were the designated watchers, Setsuna having organised classes that would coincide with the girls and not have him in a situation were any remaining Naydar would surface. That effectively meant the sciences were out of reach, but the humanities courses were more than adequate. All the girls shared at least one psychology class, with Minako and Usagi taking part in philosophy, Ami in English Literature and Rei in Religious Studies.

Getting him into those classes had been no trouble for a hacker as experienced as Ami, not to mention the fabrication and fudging of transfer documents. Having been 'transferred' from Helvetica had hurt her, but it allowed her to expand upon her usual course base. That; and the remaining treatments of the accident victims managed to keep her occupied.

But now that he was awake, aware and operational, Setsuna could worry about more pressing concerns. Such as a certain nega-demon.

She felt a shiver tingle down her spine. Shrugging it off as apprehension she carried on.

-------

Jack couldn't believe his luck. Literally he had fallen over the way to his next class. The girl, Aino Minako, was in his class for the afternoon. Sitting beside her and her blonde friend, he had trouble taking it all in. He and Mina (as she had insisted he call her) had begun talking almost immediately, first about the weather and the campus, then about themselves. Jack hadn't offered much in that vein but Mina seemed to love telling stories, almost as if she were a natural performer. Jack was captivated by the rise and fall of her voice and the twinkle she had in her eye.

He felt weird, in a way he couldn't explain. But he liked it. It was a good kind of weird.

-------

"Miss Mina," Jack called, startling the girl from her conversation with a taller brunette girl. As he ran up, his bowed to the stranger, "My apologies Miss, I didn't realize I was intruding upon a conversation."

Makoto looked the strange man up and down. He was polite and quite handsome in a rough-hewn Hollywood kind of way. She bowed back, "No apology necessary, Sir."

Mina looked between the two of them. "What can I do for you Jack?" He had insisted that she call him that, despite the fact she was uncomfortable with it. He had said, if he was to call her Mina, she must call him Jack. Makoto just raised her eyebrows slightly.

"I didn't mean to intrude, but I wanted to thank you for your help today, showing me around and answering my questions. And well, I was wondering, eh, um," Jack looked a Makoto sheepishly, the heat rising in his face, as he struggled to form the words.

"Would you, er, would you do me the pleasure of accompanying me to dinner, provided we can find a suitable chaperone? Or would it be more suitable if I were to ask your parents first?"

Mina looked taken aback, Makoto looked amused and the young man scratched the back of his neck.

Mina looked to Makoto, who nodded once, almost imperceptibly.

"Certainly Jack," She replied nervously. It was an unexpected surprise and at that surprisingly pleasant. She blushed.

An uncomfortably loaded silence settled on the trio before Mako spoke.

"Mina, if you like, Ken and I could accompany you as chaperone?" The young man's manners and the way in which even though he had seemed totally nervous about it, he had bitten the bullet anyway impressed her.

Jack beamed and looked at the tall girl before bowing, "Thank you Miss." Standing straight, he again looked embarrassed, placing his hand towards the brunette, "My name is Jack Argusson, how do you do?"

Was it too fast? Was he acting out of turn? He didn't really care. There was something about her. Something about this girl killed all the confusion, nervousness and double talk in his head.

He needed to be near her to figure out why. Maybe he just needed to be near her?

-------

Minako couldn't help but walk away dumbstruck. That had never happened before, just out of the blue like that, a bolt so to speak. And she wanted him to ask. Had wanted him too ever since he had touch her hand and helped her back to her feet. He had obviously knocked her over in more ways than the obvious.

**Chapter Four - Aspects Of Self**

_"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"_

-------

_"Never made it as a wise man_

_I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing_

_Tired of living like a blind man_

_I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling_

_This is how you remind me of what I really am"_

_Nickelback - "How You Remind Me" - Silverside Up_

-------

"You do know it's been a about three weeks or so since I meet you?" Jack said, as he tightened his arm around Mina's shoulder.

"Yeah, but it seems like longer, like the days get longer and more fulfilling."

"I'm glad you added that last bit, otherwise I'd think you were starting to get bored with me."

Mina turned to face him before punching him lightly on the arm. Jack winced mockingly, rubbing his arm.

"No use trying to get away from me that easily, handsome."

"I wouldn't dream of it sweetheart, in fact, I couldn't."

Jack placed his arm around Minako once more as they continued their walk towards the restaurant where they would meet Minako's circle of friends. He liked them all; they were a good bunch of people. Mina's friends and their boyfriends slash partners. He wasn't sure what the correct reference was. They all fit together, shared something he felt he couldn't ever be a part of, but they had let him in and accepted him. That and any time with Mina made him feel like the luckiest man alive.

But one thing did worry him.

"Mina-chan," he said using the suffix that had slipped out one day almost a week ago and hadn't gotten him slapped, but kissed into nigh unconsciousness from lack of air, "I'm a little worried."

"Bout what," she said, slipping her arm around his waist, half off in her own world.

"Well, it's like I can't help but feel that people are talking, you know, about us. About how quickly we got close and how we are almost always together. I haven't even met your parents yet and you haven't even met my host family. It's like people are saying we are lovesick of something, taking it too quick."

Mina's grip tightened around him, her fingers almost digging into his side. "Did someone say something to you?"

"No, no. It's just like, a gut feeling."

Mina poked him in the stomach, "Gut feeling nothing, and who cares what people we don't know say. I found you and I'm not letting you go because of rumour and innuendo."

Jack tightened his arm around her, almost pulling her off the ground, "I know exactly how you feel, and I feel the same in regards. If people have got a problem, it is theirs not ours."

"Right," she said. "Now handsome, lets get a move on or we'll be late and Usagi will eat everything."

And he did know how she felt, he reflected as they start to walk faster. Almost like a mould, they fit into each other, emotionally and mentally, complimenting each other like strawberries and cream. Even the small things like the way she fit under his arm, like it was made for her. He couldn't explain it, nor did he want too. It filled a hole that he dimly recognised as existing his whole life and he would fight, even die, to keep it, this feeling, from being broken or her being hurt.

-------

Mamoru's hand released that of Jack. "You guys parked around here, or are you walking?"

Mamoru's eyes had clouded over as he shook Jack's hand. The blonde man noticed it and a subtle tightening in the grip but whatever it was it had passed. "No, we decided that we might walk, considering how nice it is tonight."

Mina had ferreted her way under his arm and with waves and with goodbyes said between the four, the two blondes moved off down the sidewalk, passing between light and dark.

Usagi placed her hand on Mamoru's arm. "Are you alright Mamo-chan?"

"Fine Usagi, I just had a bit of a headrush. Lets get going."

Mamoru turned Usagi towards the carpark, his mind cursing that something was going to happen with Jack. And for good or ill, he couldn't tell which.

And in the back of his mind, he shuddered. What had the young man seen that had caused the pain in his soul? Why had its scared Mamoru so much?

-------

Quiet and content, the two walked arm in arm away from the restaurant. Jack puzzled slightly over the change in Mamoru's eyes as he had shaken his hand but pushed it aside as the girl beside him snuggled in under his arm.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Not much. You, mainly."

"All the sweet talk, a girl would think you were out to besmirch her honour."

Jack nearly stumbled at that, until he registered the joke, "Sadly, no. A gentleman such as I would never do such a thing."

"Not even if I asked nicely?"

Jack coughed, "Umm, er?"

Mina tightened her grip, "Just joking, I'm not that easy. Besides, it's too nice a night for this kind of back and forth. I just want to be here and not worry about now, or then or whatever may happen.

Whatever may happen?

Jack sighed. While the conversation had dived into unexplored ground he felt uncomfortable on that subject. It was, of course, a natural progression, but it felt, like his musing of before dinner, too soon.

Besides, she was joking. Or a least he hoped she was. Best forget about it. It was a side of her he had only glimpsed in the last weeks and it unnerved him as much as it intrigued him.

Someone had once told him love was as complex as an unstable molecule, but looked as straightforward as taking a single step.

Who had told him that? When had he been with someone who would use molecular physiology as an adjective for the intricacies of love?

Shaking his head Jack knocked his doubts and fears back into his deeper mind and simply focused on enjoying the night, Mina at his side.

------

Mina felt strange. Joking aside, she felt entirely comfortable with Jack and her statement, meant as simple banter, played in her head. Did she want more? Wasn't what they had found, albeit quickly as it had been, enough for her? She didn't want to base their relationship, as that was what it was becoming, on jumping from progression to progression without looking first.

But it nagged in the back of her head, like the emptiness from weeks ago, something she should know but didn't. Was she using this genuine guy to fulfil a need within herself she hadn't even recognised?

No, definitely not. Best to walk and forget the conversation ever happened.

-------

Tears and the sound of crying echoed gently out of the alleyway. Jack and Minako had both stopped at the mouth of the access way, the sound pricking the hair on the back of their necks.

"That sounds like a child," she whispered, turning to Jack.

He could see what she meant to do, but could see the downside, most clearly.

"I don't know if we should get involved. It's late and something doesn't sit right about it."

"Of course not," she said, now turning to him fully. "Someone's hurt or upset and we have to help them."

With that, Minako turned and looked querulously into the alley. Jack reached out for her arm quickly, but she slipped out of reach, calling quietly.

Jack cursed quietly, and followed her into the smelly darkness. It crawled over them like a blanket, thick and cloying. The crying sound came clearer over the still air.

"Hello?" Mina called hesitantly.

The crying stopped.

"Hello?" Mina called again, softening her voice. Jack followed suit, "We're not going to hurt you, we just want to help."

It started again, low and against the wall, hidden behind the bulky metal of what looked to be a dumpster.

Mina crouched before the small child shaped bundle, rocking gently on its buttocks.

"Are you alright?" She asked, reaching a hand towards what looked to be the child's head.

Will you give in to me? 

Mina sucked in her breath, pulling back as the bundle exploded towards her, sharp fingers and teeth digging at her. Jack could only stare as they bundle careened into her slamming them both into the adjacent wall of the alleyway. He had heard it too; a voice that bypassed his ears and smacked against his brain like wet leather on concrete.

Turning slowly, Jack could see the bundle for what it was, a diminutive nightmare hybrid of child, corpse and lantern fish. And it was standing over the unconscious form of his girlfriend, blood leaking from defensive scrapes along her forearms.

Jack looked at the creature, whose attention was fixated on the girl, its needle-like teeth, rasping together in its oversized jaws.

"Hey, gruesome."

The monster turned to the large man; it had registered him as less of a threat than the unconscious girl.

"That's right, slappy. Me. Let's go."

The creature shrugged the challenge off, bending back to the girl and dragging the long black nail of its right index finger across her cheek. It drew a thin trail of blood after it.

As its jaws bent to lick the rich sanguine fluid from her face, the ignored mans boot struck it in the face, chipping teeth off at the gums and sending the monster sprawling.

"Touch her again, even look at her and I'll paste you fucking hide all over these walls."

The creature turned to the girl and back to man, in time to see a pale glowing fist connect to its already mangled face.

-------

Jack knelt besides Mina his hands gently rolling her body over and into his arms. He shuddered as his eyes passed over the liquid remains of the small creature that had attacked them. He could still feel the ichor from its explosion over his hand, even though he had wiped the majority onto his handkerchief and thrown it away. He could see the afterimage in his eyes of the flare of his fist passing through the creature head and upper torso, ripping in a part in a splay of gore and organs. And he sort of knew what the thing was and he sort of knew what he had done to it and it wasn't nearly as strange as it seemed or should have seemed.

But that was to think about later. Mina was his main concern. He could take her back to her home but she would be alone. He could take her back to his host mother and help her there.

Host mother.

Everything seemed to tilt, bend both one way and the next at the same time. Mina.

Mina, save Mina. Help Mina.

Shuddering at the sticky mess of flesh once more, he turned and left the alleyway, his charge warmly wrapped in his jacket, locked in his arms.

-------

"I am sorry cousin. But what you possess they need, and sadly, lost as you are now in the happiness you have always wanted, you can't provide it. If I have broken your heart, I am sorry. Sleep and rest. Become. Make yourself."

The dark figure, previously unseen and un-sensed disappeared into the wall of the alleyway, his first aim achieved, albeit reluctantly. Sparks disappeared from the air, framing the obscure motions the darting fingers had painted.

-------

The room was darkened when she awoke, limp strands of early sunlight piercing the veil of the heavy curtains. She was lost, in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar noises. Unfamiliar noises which slowly resolved themselves into the deep easy breathing of someone beside her.

Turning her head, she could see Jack, he feet perched on the bed, his long legs leading back to his body, cast back in sleep upon a chair. It became clear to her that it was his bed and that he had watched over her. Hazy memories danced in her head as the dust of sleep engulfed her eyes once more.

-------

Again, what dim veil covered her lifted, whistling bringing her from sleep. A melodic twisting hymn full of mournful and dark tones, far away.

The light stung as it assaulted her newly opened eyes. Wincing she sat up, her arm shielding her eyes.

Jack stood in the doorway, the small platter in his arms carrying an assortment of breakfast foods. He sighed, glad that she was awake. He had awoken only an hour earlier himself, cursing that he had fallen into a dead sleep, exhausted by something his brain was still trying to rationalize now.

It made even smaller sense in the light of day.

Minako turned at the soft intake of breath. Dishevelled and stubbled he stood in the doorway, an overburdened service filled with both traditional Japanese and western foods before him.

Minako reached to the sheet that had slipped from her as she sat, pulling it to her chin.

Jack didn't bat an eyelid as he walked towards the bed and sat himself in the chair she could vaguely remember him having been asleep in earlier. Placing the tray before her, he removed a large ceramic mug, its pale brown liquid oozing steam.

"I suppose that you're wondering what happened?"

Minako nodded dumbly. Now, the haze of awakening gone, she knew herself to be clothed in t-shirt and pants, her face and arms tight and warm. She lifted on hand tentatively to her left cheek. Three thin punctured lines ran down her face.

"What's going on?"

"Well, to be honest I can't really remember much, it happened so fast," Jack winced as the lie left his mouth, "We heard someone crying in an alleyway and you wanted to see if you could help. When we found them, they, it, attacked you."

"It," she merely stated it, as last night slowly coalesced in her head. She also knew, but couldn't explain how, deep down and cold, that he was lying to her.

"You hit your head on the wall of the alley and I chased the street kid off. Because I didn't know what to do, I brought you here where my host mother could look after you and tend you. She left afterwards to get some bandages and things but I haven't seen her since."

It made him feel ill. He knew that it wasn't a street kid and he was just as equally sure he had no other concept of what it could have possibly been. But he wanted to forget it. Minako was fine, the cuts and bruises weren't bad and he was sure that whatever it was, it wasn't gong to make any sort of repeat performance. He shuddered, the feeling he had felt at that moment surging over him once more. Broken from his self-torment, he found Mina looking at him.

"Thank you," she said softly and with a sense of hesitation in her voice. Slowly what small pieces she could pick out fell into place. What she knew was that it was a youma, not some street urchin that had attacked her, off guard and unmindful of the danger that had been dogging them for the last month, even in the quiet of normality. And she had paid the price for her mistake. And it was likely that Jack may have as well. But if her addled memories served, it was small and had ambushed her. Most likely it had expected her alone. But had it been larger or paired with another, Jack would most likely be...

Minako shuddered herself, her eyes beginning to tear as she realised just what he was beginning to mean to her.

Jack startled as her eyes watered, moving from his chair and sloshing his coffee as he perched beside her, his arm lightly wrapping itself around her shoulder.

"Shhh, shhh, it's alright honey. It's alright. Hold me now."

And whatever damn she had tapped broke, fear, denial, anger and pain welling up and bursting forth, her head on his shoulder.

-------

Setsuna had cursed when Jack had come home, an unconscious and bloodied Minako over his shoulder. Thankfully the young man just assumed it a reaction to the predicament, not one of shock and recognition.

Quickly summing up the situation, she sent the boy to fetch water and antiseptic, changed the girl out of the alley soiled clothes and began to tend her wounds, all the while the heavy paced tread of jack echoing from the hallway.

Setsuna had asked him to watch her while she went to get some more medicine, which in his worry he failed to question, before slipping out the apartment and that precise moment in time.

What little she had picked from Mina's unconscious mind and Jack's fast paced confusion revealed enough for her to locate the exact place she wished. And as she watched, it became clear that luck had most definitely been a factor. The youma had not regarded Jack as a threat, and as intent as it was on Minako, its haunting whisper carrying through the night, it had proved its undoing.

And now Setsuna faced the added dilemma of his awakening to his powers without his memories. And she was afraid. This was not the time for a renegade, nor as it appeared from her reconnaissance, the interference of another time walker.

-------

Minako and Jack walked hand in hand through the white sterility of Juuban Hospital. Minako was beginning to get frustrated. Since they had entered the large building, the man on her arm had fidgeted ceaselessly, his eyes darting back and forth like a caged animal.

"What is it!" She almost snapped, breaking him from whatever memory intruded upon the moment. He almost looked guilty.

"I, I just feel really uncomfortable here. Like something bad is going to happen, or already has. I don't like hospitals."

"If you didn't want to come with me, I would have understood. You don't know Naru, and I wasn't aiming to make you uncomfortable." She softened. He had shown very little in the way of idiosyncrasies, and she could understand his feelings. Hospitals were not just a place of healing but a place where death walked the halls, searching those who awaited his embrace.

"Its fine," Jack replied, tightening his grip on her hand. "I'm probably just being weird or something, it's no matter."

Minako smiled at him as they continued their trek through the halls towards the room marked simply as 204.

Before the door Mina stopped, taking a deep breath. Usagi had said nothing much had changed in the time Naru had been here. It seemed strange to Mina that the girl she knew to be so vibrant and lively could be asleep, trapped in her own mind. And it hurt her to think that Umino and Naru would never share a future together, that she had only recently begun to dream was even remotely possible for herself.

Minako quietly pushed the heavy door open, the dull bleeping and hum of machinery like insects filling the air.

Minako stepped slowly into the room, her heart filling with emotion at the sight of the emaciated girl on the bed before her, wires and tubes laced about her. She turned to motion Jack into the room, but stopped short as her eyes met the panic that rose up within his own.

Clenched, his white knuckled hand gripped the doorjamb, steadying him as he swayed, his eyes fixated upon the redhead before him. The colour drained from his face as he stumbled backwards, his mouth moving silently, before he righted himself and disappeared down the corridor.

Stunned, Minako moved towards the opening he had just vacated, in time to hear his heavy boots ringing in his mad dash away from the room, and away from her.

**Epilogue - Misconception**

_"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."_

_- Franklin P. Jones._

-------

_"I'll be there for you, these five words I swear to you _

_When you breathe I want to be the air for you _

_I'll be there for you, I'd live and I'd die for you _

_Steal the sun from the sky for you _

_Words can't say what a love can do, I'll be there for you"_

_Bon Jovi - "I'll Be There For You" - Crossroads_

-------

Nightmares, terror and blood. He awoke screaming, his empty cries reverberating through the night like the lost shrills of a night bird. And again, what little sanity had developed between the two aspects of himself exploded away in the shock of waking.

He was in his warehouse, removed from the host family apparition of Setsuna and the woman he had come to love. Love.

Minako.

"Oh sweet shit," he mumbled, slowly righting himself, and clasping his temples as the ramifications of the Jack half and its actions settled against the Naydar half and its history.

"Drink this."

Unmoved by the voice, he reached out, grasping the cool glass and downing its contents in one gulp, straight into his open throat.

He stopped, his throat tightening as he spluttered the cloying liquid down. "What the hell is this!"

"Amnioglobin compound. You'll need it. Besides, I have interfered enough, I might as well knock it on the head for good."

"Michelas. Nice to see you. I can take it this isn't a social call."

"No that it isn't. Just my way of telling you to get your proverbial together and stop messing about with your fluctuating identities and melancholy. You have a week before you'll be needed again. You will not be bothered. Take this time to sort it out. You will not have another chance.

-------

His heart sank. So much for that. Maybe he could find some way to forget the last month like he had the last thousand years. He turned to go.

"Wait, Jack."

The door had opened behind him. Minako stood in the doorway, dressed in what looked to be track suit pants and jersey. A large woollen rug was draped over her shoulders to ward off the chill that had come with the unseasonable rain.

As she moved, Jack and Crius slowly began forward to acceptance.

-------

I remember, I remember duty and loss. I remember that I was empty. Duty was me, owned me. And I'm glad I forgot. Because now I can remember how barren and cold it was in my heart. I can remember the emptiness of duty and the fullness of love. I'm afraid to lose the light and warmth I now feel in that emptiness.

-------

"Crius, what you did was irresponsible and unforgivable!" She seemed to forget in her frustration that he wasn't the only person she needed to be angry at.

"Save it, Setsuna! I am sick of the whole duty involved curse of my existence, fighting and tragedy but no time for the heart. How many times have I been off for months in the territories, cold and outnumbered, while others have the love of another to warm their souls!" His voice was rising and his eyes gleamed with the silvery energy his frame contained. Clenched fists danced at his sides as his anger threatened to boil over. "And the whole shit about time being disrupted. It already has been damnit, I'm dead, fucking dead as stone, and I haven't even been born yet. Fuck time, fuck duty and fuck you. I'm already dead, borrowed time. For once I am gonna live!"

The Senshi of Gravity disappeared in a miasmic cloud, the very air heavy with his rage and the harsh words.

**Chapter Nineteen**

**GUILTY**

_"Is this everything you wanted, find another dream_

_Your never hear a word I say, so pray_

_I'm a sinner_

_Don't' corner me, don't lecture me"_

_Drowning Pool - "Sinner" - Sinner_

-------

His face conveyed sorrow to her, but her eyes remained hard. Jack sighed. He had known that honesty was the best policy, yet the truth can hurt. It had sure as hell hurt him. He had thought he knew who he was and now he was in a situation where he had been faced with the fact it was all a lie and construction over an unbelievable truth. And he knew how to get her to open the door and let him in out of the rain.

"Venus, please, just hear me out."

The door had closed.

His heart sank. So much for that. Maybe he could find some way to forget the last month like he had the last thousand years. He turned to go.

"Wait, Jack."

The door had opened behind him. Minako stood in the doorway, dressed in what looked to be tracksuit pants and jersey. A large woollen rug was draped over her shoulders to ward off the chill that had come with the unseasonable rain.

As she moved, Jack and Crius slowly began forward to acceptance.

-------

Two girls sat beneath the shade of a large tree, its boughs dappling the sun to a pale green luminescence above them. The rain had cleared early that morning, broken away as the sun had crested the horizon like its namesake, god and chariot.

They were quiet, their minds occupied in the revelation that had come from the one person more mysterious than any other, the one who often held their future in her hands.

Setsuna had told them both, told them who the Jack person really was. And it shocked them in the circumstances in which it had came. He had come into their lives and slowly, with their beloved sister on his arm had become a somewhat friend, pushing aside their scepticism with his nature and the obvious happiness he brought to their friend. And he had then broken her heart, leaving her emotionally beaten and dazed before once again, running away.

And he had run away before, into the city, lost in his own problems, hiding in his darkness from those who would help him for fear of being hurt or judged.

Son of their comrades. Betrayer of their friend's heart.

Child.

Ami looked at Rei. The dark haired beauty had her eyes cast downward, studying intently the grass and dirt beneath her.

"Can we really blame him?"

Rei looked at her blue haired confidante. "Of course we can. So he had his identity crisis or whatever, he didn't need to bring her into it."

"Oh, come on Rei. There's more to it than that." The tone in Ami's voice grasped the priestess' undivided attention. "It was obvious there was something more going on, the why they just feel into each other like a jigsaw. We've seen it before. And yeah he did have his problems, and he ran away. But he ran away like a scared little boy, like Chibi-Usa did. He doesn't know this world. He may be an adult, but it's like he's in a fairy tale, a dream from his past. Who can he trust? Setsuna? No, while she is the closest thing here he has to family, she has her own agenda and concerns. Mina? No, he ran away because he didn't want to hurt her."

"Bollocks Ami. He hurt her by running away."

"Yeah, but how much more hurt do you think she would have suffered to find out he was from the future and young enough, theoretically to be one of her own children?"

Rei looked at Ami, just as the blue haired scholar returned it.

Mina hadn't been to school, since two days after, when it became clear Jack, or whoever, wasn't coming back. She had woken up in Setsuna's safehouse, but the Time Senshi had later refused to disclose anything about the boy, nor could Rei and Ami persuade the teal haired woman to do so.

Minako stayed at home. Usagi was still in transit between school and the hospital, and Mako was spending her time between Mina and walking the streets, seeking the cause of her friend's problems.

Silence followed.

"I'm sorry Ami," Rei spoke, "It is narrow-minded of me to assume one thing when it's equally plausible that any other reason could be valid."

"I, too, am sorry. But I am worried, not just for Mina, but Jack also. He isn't well, and hasn't been since I met him. Mina is strong, aside from that attack she suffered, but Jack..." Ami let it trail off.

Both knew of Mina's fragile mental state following the demon's attack and both were also equally aware of the fluctuating nature of Jack Argusson and how his power would eddy and ebb.

Rei looked at Ami; each catching the others eyes as they realised their only course. "Let's go see Mina."

-------

Tension seemed to exhale, the air getting heavier with every second he sat looking at her. She had let him in, even that he wasn't expecting. Now he had run into the proverbial brick wall.

The look in her eyes when she had opened that door had thrown whatever sentences, jumbled and incoherent as they may have been, straight out of his head.

And here it was. He hadn't really been himself since the night he had lost control of his anger and a power he didn't even know he had, hadn't called her since they had walked into that damned hospital together. Coupled with his strange visitor, and the subsequent trials of body and mind, he now faced up to the hardest task of all, cleansing his unworthy soul.

He was confused. If she hated him, why let him in? If she was pissed at his leaving her like that, why not just scream at him through the door? Was she upset with him or with his behaviour? Why should she care?

But should, could or would weren't even a part of the absolute equation he was in. Nothing made sense anymore and that was what he didn't care about.

Her, he did care about. Because he loved her.

And he had betrayed her. Exposed her deepest fear from the outset, denied it as he denied his own and then ripped it raw in one stroke. And it was his fear too. Not Jack's but his, old and stale for a thousand years. That of being alone.

"I can't because I'll be hurt."

"I can't love. I don't want those tears anymore."

And those tears would be the dreams of the heart dying. Tears that could only realize the beauty of the dream in its defeat.

And victory. Sometimes the tears would come with that as well.

Tears.

Either way was pain he could do without.

She was something he didn't believe he could be without.

-------

Jack talked. Not by way of vindicating himself or explaining his actions. He told simply the facts, the emotions as he felt and saw them. And he told it all. His arrival on an earth three thousand years out from his own time, his confusion and inability to adapt, and most important in his eyes, the way he felt. And not just the way he felt now, but throughout his life, why he was who he was, and what had made him the man before her.

And Mina listened. She listened as he spoke of his pain at losing his first love, his best friend and finding that what he had always been able to rely on and believe in, his power and his will, were broken by the body of a boy only seventeen years old.

And she listened as he spoke of his confusion. The draw he felt towards her, and despite the fact he knew he could very well end the world he knew, how he had came to her anyway.

Mina tried to stay angry, but as he talked, his words flowing out from behind a dam built to show strength and power, they become vulnerable and frightened, much like she herself felt. How she could feel often, lost in a swirl of emotion she didn't understand.

"Why did you come to me the night we fought the demon? Beforehand, in the shrine grounds? And why did you help me in the fight?"

"I felt the surge of energy as it came back. The sky lit up and I knew it was coming. I ran to where I felt the Senshi and I came upon you. Like an angel cast to earth, glowing like a firefly. At the battle, he was going to kill you. I couldn't let that happen."

"Why?"

"Because..." And Jack halted. He was still denying it. As much now as when he was there, firing the shot that had released her from the monsters grip and when he had snuck into her room, looking upon the catatonic form of an goddess, locked in marble shroud of her own design.

"A long time," he mumbled, trying to find strength, "a long time ago, for me at least. You were sad. I couldn't bear to see you like that, my commander and friend, so I did what any friend would do. I fought for you, because you couldn't fight yourself. And then, it just grew, whatever it was, it grew. And I ignored it, forced it to the side and got angry. Because I couldn't do anything about it. Not in my station, not for my sake only. You were still sad. I wouldn't force the issue. And then, in my anger and my denial, I moved away, into the nether, into the battles, losing myself in violence. And then I came back. And when I first saw you, it was stronger, like the body I was in couldn't funnel the emotion. And then I woke up. Not me, but him. And I remember the pull, drawing me to you, as I had never felt before. Without myself, without Naydar, I could follow my heart. And my heart led to you. Then I woke up, and I hated it, the waking, the being full of pain again, the confusion and denial. And I remembered me, and I remembered Jack and I remembered you."

Minako looked at him, his eyes downcast, unable to see the tears welling up in her eyes. The words and the emotion behind them spoke to her, telling a story she could almost see beyond her nose, one that seemed to shadow her own.

"I remember, I remember duty and loss. I remember that I was empty. Duty was me, owned me. And I'm glad I forgot. Because now I can remember how barren and cold it was in my heart. I can remember the emptiness of duty and the fullness of love. I'm afraid to lose the light and warmth I now feel in that emptiness."

Naydar looked up, his own eyes filled with tears as he paused. They met her eyes, drops of water mirroring.

"I'm afraid to lose the love I feel for you, because I know that I can't deny it anymore."

Mina rose, and in taking those small steps towards him, the world seemed to fade back. Taking his hand, she pulled him from his seat, kissing the tears from his cheeks before her lips found the way to his own.

-------

Setsuna awoke from her sleep, the tingle in the air and across the time streams buzzing like a thousand hornets in her skull. It took mere seconds for the cause to register, and when it had, she wished it hadn't.

"You stupid man, stupid, stupid fucking idiot!" She cursed as she stood from her bed, shirt fading into her fuku as she transformed, the Time Staff materializing in her white knuckled fist.

The force of her exit cracked very single pane of glass in her bedroom.

-------

Michelas grinned, his dark robe and braided hair almost invisible in the dead dark of the black marble chamber. He felt vindicated, despite the trouble and pain this act would cause. He had assured the continuation, granted happiness, yet had laid a foundation to rip the Senshi apart. His goal was achieved, one that superseded even that of his mother.

Vindication aside, he felt empty.

"I am sorry Mother, but even some things you cannot see from where you now stand. This must come to pass, just as the darkness ahead and the silence that follows must."

Styx sighed, his inverse scythe tapping on the floor as he walked into the deeper darkness to his right.

-------

Setsuna appeared on the sidewalk, her rage bristling. Commingling with her power it caused her hair and skirts to dance on an unseen wind.

Her eyes narrowed as she counted the seconds to the confrontation that was just around the corner.

As the blonde figure rounded the stone fence that had previously obscured him from view, his slight smile faded and a hunted look darted into his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I catch you in the afterglow? Don't let me get in the way of you feeling smug with yourself."

The hunted look solidified into calm detachment as the man recognised the figure before him.

"Pluto."

"Cut that shit Crius, you know why I'm here. What on earth possessed you to do it? Huh, some driving need to get your end away and destroy the universe as we know it!"

Crius stiffened. This was why he had left her. He had told her he would have to go to the time guardian, her being his contact, as such, to inform her he was back to his full capacity, or as much of it as could be expected. As much as he had wished to stay and watch her sleep, he doubted the arrival of an angry Senshi through a wall would be appreciated. His voice, however, stayed amazingly calm.

"For once, Setsuna, I have followed my heart."

"Your heart, ha! You followed your dick, you fool! Happy with yourself? Happy with the little slut you bedded?"

And at that, Crius began to lose his temper; his clothing crackling in static as the cuffs and more removed of the garments disintegrated in gray haze.

"Mind your mouth Pluto! I will not have you speak that way regarding her!"

Setsuna recognised that she had overstepped her mark, but was too far along to back down. His statement had confirmed her fears anyway.

"Crius, what you did was irresponsible and unforgivable!" She seemed to forget in her frustration that he wasn't the only person she needed to be angry at.

"Save it, Setsuna! I am sick of the whole duty involved curse of my existence, fighting and tragedy but no time for the heart. How many times have I been off for months in the territories, cold and outnumbered, while others have the love of another to warm their souls!" His voice was rising and his eyes gleamed with the silvery energy his frame contained. Clenched fists danced at his sides as his anger threatened to boil over. "And the whole shit about time being disrupted. It already has been damnit, I'm dead, fucking dead as stone, and I haven't even been born yet. Fuck time, fuck duty and fuck you. I'm already dead, borrowed time. For once I am gonna live!"

The Senshi of Gravity disappeared in a miasmic cloud, the very air heavy with his rage and the harsh words.

"Oh damn," Setsuna mumbled

------

White began slowly to superimpose itself over the black that had been her world of torment. How long had it been black like this? Not long, but then, time mattered little here. Nothing mattered. Nothing except the two things that moved in her brain like interchangeable switches, on and off, zero and one. Umino mattered, the memory of him mattered but it was vague and indistinct now, cast upon by the on switch of her revelation.

The revelation that her friend, her deceiver, where the same. Hidden in a lie under her nose, never spoken off and never imagined, until it had taken away her heart and his life.

The black melted slowly, seeming to ebb into her, and she could feel about her the dim room. Functional, barren and sparse. Noise, repetitive and irritating. Depriving her senses of their ability to wake.

Umino.

-------

Three days later, he could see that the wait was killing him. Literally. He could see that so clearly now. The body of this young man was being eaten alive by his powers. In the month, since he had taken his critical beating at the hands of the demon and in the week since he had regained himself from the fugue he had been the sleeping awake in, or crippled in, he knew that the body of Jack Argusson was dying. He could remember the little things, the blood in his urine, the effort to move in the mornings and the fatigue that fogged his every moment. But these things were a blessing. Guilt had found him and after long thought he realised that his actions as Jack, which he had full access too, and the final actions when he had discovered himself once more had irrevocably harmed reality at its centre. The simple act that he and Minako had shared, whilst something he would never wish undone, had or would cause massive disharmony amongst the Senshi and possibly even negate his very existence.

But he didn't care.

He wanted death. In fact, he prayed for it to take him away from the creeping pain that breathed down his days and haunted his nights. He wanted to make amends and his presence was a constant reminder of a paradise shattered.

It was a shame that it was only after he had found the real love he had longed for, that he would have to kiss it goodbye.

And as Michelas had initiated the change, bringing him back to himself, he could see that with his cousin's interference, he would be released soon, released back to whence he had come, or into the twisting ether he so longed for.

He dropped the empty bottle, the milky yellow drops of the remaining Amnioglobin disappearing to spread on the tile.

-------

Now, more than ever, it was apparent. Even during the search for the talismans they had been at cross-purposes, but essentially working towards the same cause. Now, the opposites in their paths crashed together. The Outer Senshi had been adamant on what should be done, the Inner Senshi of the opposite tack. Setsuna knew that what had been done could not necessarily be repaired but had gone to try anyway. Haruka and Michiru in her absence had taken the more radical option of destroying the effect rather than the cause.

Ultimately this led them into the angry and equally shocked Inner Senshi. Minako, angry, hurt and betrayed by her seeming friends was militantly adamant in her cause, with Usagi, on a less violent tack standing for the same argument. Makoto was slightly reluctant but willing to do as Usagi saw fit. Ami and Rei, shocked and knowing that full ramification waited on the sidelines, hoping that Setsuna would decide what to do. Mamoru remained a neutral party, which understandably upset Usagi. He could see it coming in his dreams, a dark nothing stretching across the globe.

In short the time streams that Setsuna's mind journeyed upon were unacceptable in the violence and destruction of individuals and team-mates. Abortive in both their actions and repercussions.

Setsuna saw it all. A possibility, one of several and equally bleak. This was the least abhorrent. The others did not bear thinking on. She could understand how Mamoru felt. She could see it too. While not psychokinetic as he was, the darkness loomed in all timelines.

The Silence was unavoidable. Only now did she realize that she had always held hope to the otherwise. It was a harsh slap in the face to have that hope die when it looked as though hope would be all that could survive.

It also came down to a duality of purpose. Her primary purpose, beyond all others, was to maintain the security of the timestream and protect it from interference. She had to allow the Black Moon Family to travel its waters as they had appeared originally, as cast from the Negaverse in the rift awakened by Metallia's defeat, they had grown in power silently, harnessed the timestreams and perverted their use.. To disallow passage from the future would have meant a sizable chunk of the Senshi's development would have gone unfulfilled, effectively meaning death before the possessed Professor Tomoe and his minions. And as such, certain events needed to be permitted to happen.

After that, she had one other missive, as given to her by Serenity. To safeguard the Senshi and watch their lives unfold. Death would be allowed as the timeline permitted, despite Setsuna's wishes and the duality to her primary objective. But if the path of the Senshi in question lay towards life, she could not interfere.

As such, the interference in the other timelines had created major disturbances and destruction regardless of the predestined path. The future in these possibilities stagnated and blackened.

Life. While the specifics evaded Setsuna, the course was clear.

She needed counsel. And there was but one individual who could see further than she could.

-------

The black marble room, as always was unchanged. Sailor Pluto glanced into the darkness speckled by the unfamiliar stars. Stars that were in essence, representations of divergent and parallel realities. Like a universe on top of another, endless infinity confined.

The black robed figure seemed to appear from nowhere, black upon black.

"Hello Mother. I see that you have questions regarding an impending event."

While he was her son, his attitude and flagrant bluntness had always irked her.

"Yes. And I now know that it is supposed to be, Guardian Of Reality." She addressed him harshly, the tone showing she had little respect for the often underhanded and devious measures used in attaining his goals.

Minako dead from grief and violent betrayal, Senshi slaughtering Senshi, a split in their ranks destroying them all in the Silence, Crius killing his parents and himself because of their standpoint, and the entire future reshuffled, all these thoughts bounced through her head.

His voice rose in anger. "I don't get involved Setsuna, you know that. It would have happened eventually anyway so the point is moot. I didn't choose to be me, it was thrust upon me. I do not interfere with the lives of the people I watch over, I protect them from outside. The outside of the outside you and your peers do. I knew it would happen. Crius and Minako's union was planned for millennia. Do not blame me, blame Fate herself."

Setsuna cursed her misjudgement of her son. His was a lonely role. He had seen the universe as it was born and as it died and all in-between. Time didn't exist in those dark places. He was alone in a way that overshadowed hers by a degree incomprehensible.

"So it must be."

"You have your task. You know the way it is destined to be. Destiny can be remade in the image that ones seeks, have they but the will. Follow your heart."

As he disappeared back in to the ether, Setsuna was stunned. His voice had changed, and she had heard that voice say those last words once before, a long lifetime ago.

-------

The five Inner Senshi walked slowly through the dusk-lit park. They were all quiet, feeling somehow the negativity that blossomed from the one who walked slightly behind.

Understandably so. From what Minako had told them, Jack had come to her after disappearing for several days and she had, out of love, misjudged trust or lonely wanting, taken him into her bed. Now while his name wasn't mention out loud, all assumed she was thinking about him. Rei and Ami were shocked when Mina gushed her revelation, exclaiming him to be the one she had always looked for, a star as bright as her own. Usagi and Mako, oblivious to what Jack really was, were happy for their friend, although concerned with his prior abandonment of her. But now, some three days later, the absence weighed heavily on Mina, the unspoken thoughts of the others carrying in her heart like a lead weight. That he had just used her.

But she knew, knew like a person knows something, so deep and true, that he stayed away not because he didn't care, but that he cared too much. Or that he couldn't come to her and make everything as it had been, so very simple in his arms. And she could feel her enmity growing slowly. The teal haired woman played too much, too close to her chest and it ached, hurt that a friend would take away something that made her happy, gave her a purpose she thought she would never find.

She hadn't told the others who he was, simply what he meant to her, and in that misinformation they judged him. Or, if Minako had known herself; in the case of Rei and Ami, appeared to judge him.

In reality they were scared stupid about what could happen next.

The gloom deepened.

"It's a damn cold night." Minako coughed, the cold air condensing before her face.

The others simply nodded, lost in their own thoughts. Usagi stopped, appearing as if on the verge of speech. Slowly, she reached to her pocket, the numb vibrations of the beeper startling her.

The faces of her comrades lighted on Usagi as her face split into a grin. The beeper had become a constant companion since Naru's admittance to the hospital. Silent it had accompanied them, until now, speaking of something that they believed to be less and less likely as the days passed. Ami's remote surveillance had kicked no action; the stark hospital room dull, a flame haired girl, slowly sitting up in bed.

"Naru's awake," Usagi murmured.

-------

The beeping slowed imperceptibly, the slow curtains of light casting aside the shadow that dwelled in her mind. It stung, bringing pain to the dark field of her mind like a red wash. But the pain brought with it the cold awakening of reality. That the things in her head weren't just the disillusioned wanderings of the sleeping mind. And these things had been brought into the cold and empty world she had secretly hoped to leave.

Betrayal and loss. That Umino was dead. That Usagi was Sailor Moon.

Muted, the nurses and doctors came and went, prodding and probing, eliciting half-hearted and vague responses when necessary. But the real seat of her consciousness simply waited. Her body would heal without her, but until she could prove the certain facts that haunted her, her mind would linger half in limbo.

She needed to see Usagi. Not talk, but look upon her with the eyes that now saw all the hypocrisy and deceit for what it was.

And she could wait forever. Now, without him, she had nothing better to do.

-------

The doors to the front of the hospital hissed open to admit the five teenagers. Warm and sterile, the night air was sealed behind them, its gloom eradicated. Cheeks red from wind and exertion, unripened to paler flesh tones as they walked quickly yet restrained to the lift.

The elevator ascended slowly, the gentle whirring of winches accentuated by the tapping of feet. Impatiently, the blonde with the balled pigtails squeezed through the slowly opening doors and moved hurriedly into the corridor.

The numbers on the doors flashed passed as all pretence of calm was shed, the number 204, solidifying into view. The girl knocked quickly, scarcely hesitating as she opened the door.

And there was pretty much when the world fell out from underneath Usagi.

Slowly, Usagi peeked her head around the doorjamb. Naru was upright in bed, her hair freshly brushed and gleaming like fire in the rapidly dying sunlight that penetrated through the window. Her eyes looked out over the central courtyard of the hospital seemingly lost. But as Usagi stepped fully into the room, the eyes turned to face her.

Usagi beamed, quickly moving towards the bed. "Naru! I'm so happy you're awake. We were all so worried about you, I mean we were scared that you had gone away and weren't coming back and we, well, we..."

Naru had raised her hand, palm outward, signalling Usagi to stop. The blonde looked on confused, as the redhead began to speak. Her voice was dry and muted, yet easily heard.

"Tell me Usagi. Are you Sailor Moon?"

Usagi swallowed quickly. "Naru, you should rest, I mean you got hurt real bad and you must be exhausted after..."

Naru's eyes had tightened and her hand was once again raised.

"I am rested enough. Are you Sailor Moon?"

The squeak in Usagi's voice was well hidden, although the lie, as she was now, didn't slip past Naru. "No, why would I..."

The hand shot out, faster than it should have, considering Naru's state and grasped onto Usagi's collar.

"You lie. You lie still even after what you have done to me. Umino is dead. Nephrite is dead. You torment me and hide behind this false skin and you hurt me and all those who would be free of the evil that comes for you! You lie and hide behind you magic, unable to be hurt or killed, while others suffer! You do nothing! Murderer!"

Naru shoved the blonde away, causing her to fall against the wall. Tears in her eyes Usagi stood shakily and made to step towards the bed once more.

"Murdering bitch! Out of my sight liar and killer! Get out!" The last rose to a scream and before the tears could blind her, Usagi ran from the room, almost bowling over her startled friends that were waiting outside. Fending off their cries and moves to go to her she sprinted down the corridor, into the stairwell and eventually into the night.

-------

Mamoru looked up from the crystals scattered before him on the floor. A numbing feeling had started at the small of his back and was creeping over him like a death touch. Shaking the feeling off, he broke his concentration and moved the crystals with a sweep into his palm, placing them back in their velvet box.

"Usagi," he muttered, before standing and disappearing from the room in a rain of petals.

-------

Michiru woke suddenly. Something had crossed over her mind briefly in sleep, touching her nerves like a hot iron. The sun shone down on her warmly, it last rays dipping behind the hills, so the chill she felt must run deeper. She sat up, pulling the robe over her shoulders, the bikini offering little comfort.

"What's wrong?" Haruka asked, peering over her reading glasses, the book in her lap forgotten.

"Something. Something comes. Something dark."

Haruka suppressed the urge to shrug and continue reading. The half-formed comment of "So what else is new?" died on her tongue as Michiru began to shake.

-------

As seemed to be common, Crius dropped the Amnioglobin shake on the floor. Not really having anything profound or meaningful to say he settled for something universal.

"Ah, fuck it."

-------

Mamoru walked slowly through the now dark park located in the central area of the Juuban district. The shadowy tree overhung the path he followed like the reaching hands of memory yet he ignored them. He could remember the bench before him. It seemed like so long ago he had confessed his doubts and misgivings to the cat who had become his close friend and advisor. More pressing however was the blonde woman; knee's to chest, sitting on the barren wood, rocking gently as narrow strained sobs escaped her lips.

Slowly he moved to her side, slipping an arm behind her as he sat beside her. She turned into him automatically, almost instantaneously saturating his shirt with salt water.

The standard question "Are you okay?" left more than a little to be desired, so he simply waited, drinking in her sweet scent and waiting for her to talk to him.

"Mamo-chan? Why do you love me?"

Odd, but if he knew anything, it was best to answer it at face value. He kissed an odango as it bobbed before his mouth. "You're like a light in the dark. You have a strength that outshines the sun and a heart so full of love it's overflowing. You're loyal, trustworthy and always do what's right. You make me feel like a millionaire just by being near me." Cheesy he knew, but the question had caught him off guard. He still hadn't got the hang of this whole emotion's thing either which didn't help.

She turned to look him in the face; her eyes blue as always, yet raw with tears and anguish. "Am I a murderer? Am I a liar? Is all this my fault?"

Stunned, he could only hold her tighter.

-------

The closet door was wide open, the empty and inverted drawer from the chest behind her adorned with dark candles. The inky black wax dripped down the sides, congealing in sticky, irregular circles. The words had swirled around and around in her head since yesterday night, calling to her, implored her to give them voice. Angered and enraged at the betrayal she had been forced to endure, she followed their call, organizing the candles into the inverted pentagram, solidifying the lines with her bloodied fingertip.

Marking a line under each eye, the blood quickly clotting, she coughed to clear her throat, bringing the phlegm upwards. Naked, she began.

"Krathlak minudo scvhal, infrag juten ktarul, mumbag estafghl Nell!"

All across town the clocks stopped. Not time, just the clocks, slowed to imperceptibly. Cats screeched and dogs howled. The odd wandering youma burst into flames. Several individuals paid key note, their intestines twitching as the words scrambled across their minds like scorpions on a blackboard.

"Krathlak minudo scvhal, infrag juten ktarul, mumbag estafghl Nell!"

Birds fell from the sky, babies awoke screaming in their cribs and the nightmare beasts fled the dreams of children as their dreamers awoke in cold sweat. The darkness breathed deep as the black candles flared.

"Krathlak minudo scvhal, infrag juten ktarul, mumbag estafghl Nell!"

And it all fell back, clocks started, the darkness exhaled and the animals twitched in confusion, wondering what the hell they were making so much noise about. The black candles snuffed themselves, casting the room into shadow. And Crius, emissary of the future, Titan of Gravity, crashed through the roof above the bedroom of Naru Osaka.

The dust settled as the man steadied his feet on the beams and roof tiles beneath him, loosely assuming a combat stance. His hair crackled gently, glittering sparks the colour of his silver and blue body armour falling about him.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to intrude, but no demon summoning please."

The girl turned; red hair over her face, concealing her from the man's scrutiny. She could see him however. A silvery grey bodysuit covered him from neck to foot. Clustered over knees, elbows, shoulders and crotch was an almost ceramic looking blue plating, glinting vaguely in the light as it sparked off his aura. His yellow hair, not too long, nor too short, stood on end slightly, the fringe curved into what could be called horns. A dark blue symbol burned like a beacon on his forehead.

Flicking her head, the girl's hair streamed back, solid black eyes glowing from within.

"Oh, sweet holy fucking J..." he muttered before the invisible energy slammed into him, punching him throw the wall like a bullet through paper. His mind registered the fact that the rest of the roof collapsed, making the room like an observatory. But that was before he hit the building across the street.

After that, all he could think off was how badly he had failed everyone who had ever trusted him.

**Chapter Twenty**

**INK AND BLOOD**

_"I can feel it coming around again_

_Time, a changing a wasting_

_Come and get up in my face again, yes_

_Time, given the run around to me_

_Disturbed - "God Of The Mind" - The Sickness_

-------

It's strange, how even now, after all I have seen, all I have done and all I have contemplated doing that I find myself back here.

No matter how much I go over things in my mind, it's always so much easier in the stark black and white of ink on paper. The technicolour swirl of memory is judged under the emotions of the times they are seen, but the pen is detached. The pen exists simply to bear witness to what I have to make it say. And what it says is the finality, the closing statement or epitaph by which I announce what had occurred to the world. A world that lives in my eyes and my eyes alone.

The ink doesn't judge, nor does it tell of what it has seen. Perfect in theory to the imperfect theorist. Biased as it may be, unwittingly so, it stands as testament and in time, it may be all that remains.

-------

Two weeks. Two weeks is all it can take for the finely threaded strands of time to be undone. And as I traced, in the aftermath, all the events that I found myself involved with, they came from fury.

Lightening striking a young man as he rode home from his place of employment. Largely insignificant in a greater scheme, apart from the fact lightening has less chance of striking a human as an aircraft does of falling from the sky. Significance came in the fact of what this seemingly random event was to herald. Which was quite simply, the end of the world as we knew it (and no, I don't feel fine). And that brings us to the two weeks.

We are in the aftermath now, the last six months are but the ripples from outward; here, we ride the crest of a tsunami.

-------

Little can be said of the last five months or so, the young Princess Usagi of Crystal Tokyo paid a visit and in time preparations for her Majesty, Usagi-Serenity's, eighteenth birthday came to fruition. Herein lies the crux of the issue for it is here, or then, if you will, in that singular now that one of my future selves dignified it pertinent to send an emissary to warn us of the dark times slightly more than three thousand years ahead. And here it was that the lone boy, previously unrelated to our existence, lightening scared and ruined awakened from his slumber, screaming, unknowing the world around him and just where he would fit into it.

That night just happened to be the night of June the thirtieth; that of Usagi's birthday. The state of arrival ripped across the chronal matrix and shocked me from the reluctant revelry that my sisters had forced upon me. Needless to say, after cursory goodbyes with warnings of caution to both Uranus and Neptune, I left. Departing for the Time Gates; and hopefully, an answer to this new situation.

The supposed answer left merely more questions. What I found was a warning from myself, simply a blank piece of paper. Worried and frightened of the ramifications such a message entailed I went into the miasma of the streams and upon my return several days later called a meeting. It was here that I warned of the increased youma activity, the majority of which only Saturn and myself were aware of, before asking the more prophetical and technological of the Senshi to be watchful via all sources at their means.

It was some four to five days after the party that I found the traveller in question. In a hospital, shrouded by the dark night, I watched his combat with two youma, and I realised that I knew him. This shocked me to no end and quickly, gathering his prone form, I left, returning to Japan and the relative safety I could grant both him and the timestream from the knowledge he bore. Now however, in hindsight and in light of his recounting of future events, I can safely say that the two creatures that he disposed of were sent to destroy him. And prevent us from gaining knowledge of the crucial tidings he bore. How on earth they found him before me, I cannot say.

It became apparent upon his awakening that medical skills were needed as the traveller, now under the assumed name of "Jack", was shown to be unable to access his full power as was accustomed. I queried his combat garb and upon a demonstration of this limited transformation, my communicator signalled.

True to my request, Ami's scanning had registered the spike of energy and then at my request, agreed to meet me. Springing my guest upon her, whose recognition of her startled the young woman, medical checks and spike clarification were made. Ami then determined what Jack had brokenly theorised. That his body and soul, apart in both time and genetic makeup, had failed to mesh correctly in my future self's haste, and as such, it was draining or inhibiting the use of his full power. We were also forced under Ami's shrewd use of technology and algorithms to reveal Jack's true identity to the Senshi of Ice.

Believing Jack to know better, I left him confined in the safehouse and more or less to his own devices. I see know that allowing him to roam Tokyo in that limited state, both mental and physical was naïve. Taking into account the emotional damage that had been inflicted by the temporal soul transfer, he went off on his own and revealed his presence to Rei, in his not entirely misplaced belief the problem was spiritual as opposed to medical. In this circumstance, his stubborn nature and the priestess' anger again forced my hand into revealing his true identity.

So now, rather than minimizing potential contact, both Mercury and Mars, as well as myself were aware of his presence and his identity; Naydar Tenoh, firstborn child to the Senshi's Uranus and Neptune.

It was while this was transpiring that our enemy, or at least an underling of some significant power made its move. With my announcement of the end to a year of respite, Endymion retreated into a state he had haunted some nine months prior, one of doubt and pain. Almost as if my revelation was a catalyst, Mamoru retreated from everyone minus the two moon cats. Then, in a statement to his growth as an individual and his love for Usagi, he and Artemis left for the secluded north in order to train. He would return slightly less than a week later to a thoroughly different atmosphere. My revelation of impending darkness also startled the Senshi themselves, many of whom, I believe, were beginning to assume that they would be at last be capable of leading a semi-normal life.

It was here; away from the city and at peace with nature that Mamoru finally accepted the future destiny had placed before him. I doubt it was all his doing however, but he remains adamant in his refusal to discuss matters.

In that week of absence, as noted, the enemy struck. Originally we believe it was unwittingly, as he was stumbled upon by Saturn whilst feeding upon some nameless misfortunate's. After quickly injuring her, we can only surmise that the enemies timetable moved up a notch and the remaining Senshi were then systematically targeted. First Minako and then, often within minutes of one another, the rest.

To break it down further and to be more concise, Minako was attacked the following day. At that stage, the Inner Senshi were unaware of any attack to their Outer comrade. Sadly, I can only deduce, due to some remaining schism between the two groups.

In attributing why each Senshi fell victim in her own way, I can only reach the conclusion of shock. I was partially to blame myself, as due to their skills and the strength they have shown over the time I have known them, I had thought they would have been well prepared. A life, real and apart from the darkness they had known for so long had been taken from them, by my simple announcement.

In retrospect, I made many mistakes that week. After finding Jack at the Hikawa Shrine I had been less than civil to him in my displeasure. My harsh rebuttal, combined with the revelation about his new limitations had sent him into hiding. What he did these days I am unsure, as his presence had been masked from me, yet I did receive a letter. This letter outlined the processes of an ancient demon technique, essentially a power tap. The function was to drain power from the victim and subvert it to the creature's own use, while providing a limited and almost leech-like connection and immunity to the victim. The opening to the tap was hypothetically provided by exacerbating the predominate fear of the individual and using it to accelerate and amplify the production of other, less dominant phobias. It outlined a way of isolating the problem and neutralising its effects. Jack had at some stage of this week visited Minako. How and why I am still unsure and in the current situation he is unlikely to tell me.

This said, and the fact that we are only human proved that we all managed in some way, shape or form to fall victim to the attack. Myself included, although that is a separate case altogether. Of import also, is that Jack continued to disregard my instructions, of remaining incognito, as without visiting Minako, he could have no way of finding out the cause of her incapacitation.

Ultimately I was able to discover the fears behind our failures. Minako was attacked through her yearning for love and companionship and the fact it was never requited. Hotaru, through her power and the inability she has of being able to show extreme emotion. By being reserved, she could minimize the chance of becoming emotionally involved or trapped, whereupon her powers (of which the true extent are unknown even to myself) could manifest. Needless to say, with her accelerated aging, the hormonal changes in puberty had offset whatever natural balance she possessed. Haruka and Michiru were attacked via their love for one another, Rei through her telepathic and empathic abilities, Makoto through her strength and Ami through her love of learning and knowledge.

Myself, he attacked via my self-imposed isolation. The timestreams had ruled me for so long that I was often unable to bear the strain of memory. By placing that strain upon me, combined with all the horror and pain I had seen, he forced my mind to fold in upon itself. As such, the Pluto responsible for the mobilization of warning and finding Naydar was my future counterpart. How it was placed upon me I am unsure.

I mention this only in passing, mainly due to the fact that the individual Setsuna, be they the current me, or not, are still me. For some unknown reason, I did not become aware of his attack upon my person until immediately prior to my return, although I am sure my future self was and hid it from me whilst in the haven I was taken too. I only use this differentiation to establish a chronology of sorts. I am not the future Setsuna as of yet, but I can honestly say that for the time being and the foreseeable future, I shall not return until I am required to replace myself as she replaced me. I was, as I would then learn, the first individual Senshi to be targeted, even before I had established the initial contact with Jack. It was at this time, secluded from the world as I was, that these aforementioned events transpired.

Naydar had obviously visited Minako and learned of her injured state via aura seeing. He then notified my future self, via said letter, before disappearing back into the city. It was then that I (or more correctly, my future self) rallied the Senshi to cure Minako, who by chance was originally attacked while my future self was sidetracked dealing with Jack and Rei. My future self would have of course know all this at the time but in order to progress would have allowed these things to happen.

You can of course see here, why I am often loathe with myself for having to do the things I do, not because I wish to do them but because they need to be done. I digress however.

It was purely an exercise in mental contact to wake Minako, funnelling our powers, thoughts and prayers towards the girl. It was here that my counterpart forged deeper and placed a lock upon the days of memory during and immediately prior to Venus' catatonia. The reason for this I am of yet, unaware of, although I would assume it has something to do with current events.

Three days later, she would gather the Senshi, and an oblivious Minako to discuss the demons attacks. Mamoru then returned, himself the victim of petty scare tactics, aimed at delay, albeit nothing to the extent the Senshi had faced. It then became known that the extent of the fear contamination had reached not only Minako and Hotaru, but also Haruka, Michiru, Rei and Makoto. Thankfully by this stage, Hotaru had seemingly shaken off the mental aspect of lethargy by herself, although some remnant of the physical lingered. With these discoveries and the revelation that Mamoru had ascended to his rightful place as Prince of the Earth, the meeting quickly broke apart.

By opening themselves to the possibility they had been contaminated and violated and then using their seemingly corrupt powers, it enabled the next stage of the enemies plan to move along in our favour.

I, myself, or more correctly the present version, then returned, aware of the main theme of events only as far as the demon attacks and Mamoru's ascension. Only after making myself know to Naydar and warning him against intervention did I proceed to wake the Senshi from their fears and musings. Saturn was receptive enough and with a general assist and a minimum of violence we were able to rouse Neptune and Uranus. Then I went to Helvetica to tutor Ami in evading the brunt of the attack that was to strike her, being as she was, the only unaffected party left.

Upon my return to Tokyo, Mercury in tow, we went about reclaiming our powers. The spell that we used, which is Ancient Sumerian in nature, relied on reversing the tap, and drawing back our powers in their entirety. In fact, to eliminate any siphoning that may have taken place, the invocation called all of the respective powers back to their rightful owners; minus of course those that were too corrupt to be returned in any form whatsoever.

From the resultant effect and damage we all sustained, it is fairly safe to assume both the creature and any existing power sinks were drained. No one has talked about the awakening yet, but I can assume that due to the nature of our powers that they were very similar to my own. Mostly experiences of pain and struggle, against both what we are and what we wish to be.

I did however notice upon regaining control that the residual presence of Naydar lingered in the air, specifically around Venus. As such, he had ignored my instructions once again. If only I had been less sidetracked with the present threat I may have been able to see it earlier.

It was then, recovering as we were, that the demon attacked, falling from the sky above Juuban. In the scant few minutes it took Endymion to heal us and for us to race the length of the road between the Shrine and the town centre, the creature had reduced a large amount of the infrastructure to rubble. And sadly, in his destructive rage, claimed many lives, both in said rampage and his subsequent feeding.

Upon our arrival, we were shocked at the horror of the carnage. In my time I have seen much, but as much as I have wished, over time, that my heart would harden, it never has. I am glad in a way; it hasn't, as I am still disturbed and angered by the atrocities that are committed.

We, not thinking, attacked. Foolishly it would seem. The demon was in a blind rage, the forced retrieval of our powers having wounded it and decimated whatever backups it had stored in their place. Combined with a residual immunity and the powers it had already assimilated beyond retrieval, it was able to shrug off our attacks with ease. It was then, the creature obscured by magical wind, fire and ice that Venus struck with her Wink Sword. As the clouds of ionic discharge dissipated, it was revealed that she was trapped, her neck clasped in the demons talons.

My wayward charge seemingly took this as his time to strike, attacking with, of all things, a modified handgun. For some reason I have yet to inquire upon the demon was wounded, dropping Minako and simultaneously focusing his negative attack upon Naydar. The building crumbled and Naydar fell beneath the brickwork he had stood upon only seconds previously.

Grinning, the demon was assaulted by a gigantic thunder dragon, seawater in its veins. The demon wrestled with said dragon, killing it and driving its body into the ground, but not before the creature was forced away from the prone form of Minako. Having bought valuable time and ground, Uranus, Saturn and Endymion were able to attack with their bladed weapons wounding the beast more comprehensively than that of all our magical attacks combined.

As Mars endeavoured to rescue the buried form of Naydar, the remaining Senshi concentrated on distraction, allowing Setsuna and Endymion to extricate Venus from her position. Endymion retreated behind a gouged earthwork and began to heal the prone Minako. The Senshi become more demanding, shielding Sailor Moon and running interference with higher level attacks, while Serenity prepared her own, and Hotaru, under my instruction was sent to aid Rei in her excavation.

One of the largest shocks came when the demon was able to deflect Sailor Moon's most powerful attack, launching it over its shoulder into previously undamaged buildings, before responding with its own, bouncing the Senshi away and into the scenery like rag dolls. Endymion, behind a barrier of scared earth, covered Venus with his own body while Saturn, alerted seconds earlier, sliced the attack in two before it reached her and proceeded to attack the creature head on.

It was here that the youma's unnatural strength and the extent of the power tap were revealed, as he compensated for all of Saturn's swings before launching his own plasma blast at point blank range. It was then as Hotaru fell at the monsters feet that Crius emerged from the rubble that was been imprisoning him.

-------

The rubble moved slightly, buckling before heaving off to the side. A dusty and tattered man stood in the small depression he had just cleared. His bandana was now around his neck, having fallen from his face during the ill-fated attempt to block the demon blast. His sunglasses were shattered, the remaining ear and eyepiece falling to the ground as he straightened himself. His cloak was gone, disintegrated before his fall, his clothes, unprotected, now ripped in numerous places, his shirt in threads and the small cuts across his body gluing the remaining strands to him with blood.

Casting his eyes about the battlefield, breathing heavily, it seemed to Crius that he had tunnelled back to the future. He could she Neptune and Jupiter across from him, hidden, their legs bloodied, hanging from the side of a bus. Mercury lay facedown in the gutter near the front of said bus, Sailor Moon slightly closer to him, her hands, like a puppet's, weakly holding her head.

Immediately to his left he could see Endymion, cloak flat about him as he covered the injured form of Venus, her boots protruding from the capes embrace. His eyes roving, he caught sight of Pluto and Uranus, prone, lying amidst the dust and stone behind him, off down a more undamaged piece of thoroughfare. Rei lay slightly behind him; her body crisscrossed with cuts, her head against the counter of what had once been a fashionable boutique.

Crius could swear his heart stopped beating. But he knew it was real. Senses tingling he turned towards the right.

Saturn fell to her knees, then her face before the demon, her seifuku blackened and smoking in the aftermath of the youma's blast. The chill look of satisfaction and bloodlust burnt in the creatures' eyes as it bent towards the fallen girl. Thick taloned hands clasped the back of her head as the demon pulled her to its face. Over the sounds of suffering he could here the tomblike chuckle of victory.

"Told you bitch, you can't beat me." And with that the creature heaved the girl, her body limp as a rag doll, towards the Senshi of the Moon.

Crius could feel something, burning and electric deep in him. Building it felt like his muscles were burning, twisting and contracting within him. His eyes rolled back and his teeth clenched as small chunks of stone rose about him, the gravity holding them to earth fluctuating wildly. Raging the storm continued, tatters of blood caked shirt peeling off and up to disperse in the air. It was like an awakening, feeling what he had missed, his power, unbridled like a storm.

Screaming in triumph, he caught the monster's attention. Confused, the beast looked sidelong at the man who now faced him with a look of righteous wrath, clad in blue and grey body armour, the symbol of the bull burning on his forehead.

The voice was cold and low but carried to the demon's ears over the distance that separated them.

"Never again."

-------

Azel was shocked. The sniper had fallen; consumed in the blast he had sent to end his existence. He had even felt the life force flickering and disappear. The bastard whelp should be dead, yet he remained.

Azel was impressed. In the boy's place now stood a warrior he could test his limits with. Clad in a grey bodysuit, crotch, knees, elbows and shoulders encased with armoured pads, the boy fair rippled power. The demon grinned, he face cracking in a wide smile, as the boy launched himself into the air, hurtling towards him like a comet, face contorted with hatred.

-------

Crius was lost. The future was now and he had failed to stop it, just being here had caused the early demise of the existence he missed so much and the monster before him held his fate in both hands. Summoning his power, Crius levitated towards the beast, his rage fuelling his flight, his own screams echoing in his head, burning his eyes with tears.

-------

The blonde man careened towards the demon beast, his aura rippling behind him like a tail, crackling and electrifying the very air. In slow motion, the monsters readied itself for a strike and as the combatants engaged their fists collided with an earth-shaking boom.

Fists connected, they tested each other. In the split second they took the measure of each other and without faltering, continued their assault. Crius broke the stalemate, spinning around with a back kick which connected and nullified the demons attempt to uppercut his opponent in the stomach. Quickly switching, Crius, alternated, backed up with a second kick from his right leg, which caught the demon unprotected in the side of its head.

Dazed the monster reeled allowing Crius to land and ready himself for the following strike. Charging the envigoured demon again he led with an uppercut to the midsection. Crius blocked with a downward double palm strike, leaving himself open for the downward cut punch to the back of the head. Falling downwards towards the creatures rapidly ascending knee, Crius pushed forward, overshooting the knee to the face, and head butting the beast in the stomach. Catching a glancing blow to the chest, the momentum carried them away from each other.

Shaking off the massive blows, the two locked eyes.

"Not bad for a thief." Crius stated.

"Not bad for lunch." Azel retorted.

Rather then the customary circling and gauging the enemy the two launched at one another again, blurring the air with punches, kicks and blocks.

Crius entered with a series of cross punches, punctuating the rhythm with kicks from his hip, aimed at the demon's waist. Off put by the determination of his opponent, Azel ran on the defensive, blocking with his forearm and hands when the blows came close to contact. Slowing his barrage, Crius curled his right fist low to his side, shooting it upwards into the jaw of the monster. Azel's head flew backwards, and his arms went limp. Yet it was a momentary respite as the hands slapped around, connecting with Crius' ears, stunning him and causing his knees to buckle.

Azel raised his knee, repositioning his hands on the Senshi's shoulders, driving the man repeatedly up and down into his knee, jack-hammering the blonde into submission. After several rib-cracking contacts the beast flung the man away, where on impact he rolled and slowly got to his feet, a trickle of blood escaping his mouth.

"That all you got you fuckstain bitch!" Crius grumbled.

Azel lowered his guard in exasperation. "Okay fine, the cheesy speeches "In the name of blah blah" I can take but your trash talk sucks..."

The slang was ended as Crius; jumping forward slammed his fist into the creature's solar plexus, causing Azel to hunch over, shoulders curved. Following quickly, Crius spun around, driving his armoured elbow into the side of the monster's face, sending it off balance and several feet away.

-------

Crius knew he was in trouble. His lungs burned and whatever power he had touched was quickly diminishing like nothing he had ever felt. His limbs felt leaden and he was sure that another couple of blows like those knees to his chest and he was going to be on the mat for good. And it scared him. Never in all his years had he felt this human and he knew that if he died in this fight, no manner of magic would bring his arse back from the great beyond. But sadly what scared him more was that the monster seemed to get stronger with each hit, like it was draining him, like he had drained the others.

-------

Azel stood. Now this was a fight! He loved it! This meat was giving him a run for his money, and it felt good to be a demon! Azel stretched, moving the demonic muscles to better placement over his skeleton. And then he realised. He felt good. This meat was pounding on him something unholy and he felt like he was getting stronger, more vital as it drew on. This feeling, this power, like the tap hadn't been broken. Azel grinned.

-------

"Meat!" Azel screamed at the blonde man. "Feeling tired? Need a rest? Want your energy back? I know what you are, you twisted abomination!"

Crius felt his anger boiling. The Senshi were slowly moving and if he knew the tactics demons employed it was to break and then destroy. If he spoke now, and Crius had no doubt from the smirk, that the demon knew the truth, it would be a final blow, seeding the knowledge in all the Senshi's minds and ultimately threatening his existence as well as that of the future.

Crius summoned what little power he could still grip, pistoning his arms behind him as he felt his power form into his fists. Normally it wouldn't be unnecessary for the words to follow, but here and now, he needed all the focus he could get.

Pushing his arms forward and releasing the energy in his fists, the words bellowed forth like his enraged namesake staking its claim on the herd "BULL RUSH!"

The power commingled into a ball of static, a foot in diameter and hurtled towards the creature that stood smiling at the onslaught.

"Not even." It said as the ball connected with its chest.

-------

Awakening, and in varying stages of consciousness, the Senshi's attention was drawn to the crackle of energy that ripped across their senses. Some sensed it with a familiar ripple, others recognized it as a power unlike any they had felt before. Nonetheless as the orb hit the demon square in the chest and dissipated, the only sounds that could be heard were the sharp intake of breath and the throaty chuckle of the unscathed monster.

"Nice try but as I was saying meat, not even." And in retaliation the creature levelled its hand at the blonde man, palm downwards, a line of black energy lashing forth like a laser to explode against his chest.

Crius flew through the air, limp and broken to crash against the ruptured pavement. Shock gripped those that bore witness. Ami and Rei, struggling to their feet on different sides of the battlefield, watched the fallen warrior roll to a standstill. Usagi, helping the bleary Hotaru to her feet, bore a look of confusion, while Neptune and Uranus comforted one another in their pain. Setsuna and Jupiter watched the crippled heroes strewn about, both contemplating countermeasures. Setsuna's bore down a different track, not that of retaliation but escape, and if possible, rescuing the fallen traveller before the demon could inflict more damage if not death. Venus was still unconscious but slowly moving towards wakening while Endymion was...

Endymion was standing atop the earthwork, his sword drawn and held lose at his side, staring straight towards the demon. It had yet to notice this new player, but it would only be a matter of time.

Time, thought Setsuna. Something she had an abundance off, but never quite nearly enough.

And as luck, or a lack of it, would have, before she could warn Endymion of his plight, the monster turned. She could see their eyes lock, blood red and chocolate brown. And then Mamoru spoke.

"And now creature, your fight is with me."

-------

The following week was one of the most difficult I have ever had to witness in all my years of life. My comrades, one and all, save the traveller, took the events to heart, blaming themselves for being unable to prevent what would become known as a tragedy throughout the known world. Each dealt with it in their own ways, reaching out and touching many lives or simply those they saw who needed it most. Trying to forget what they had been involved in by losing themselves in comfort or task. As I had my own to fulfil, I know little of what they went through, consumed as I was by my own fears and worry.

Guilt of all the human emotions carries the heaviest weight, for we indeed place its burden upon ourselves.

Lost in guilt, as were Usagi, Mamoru, Minako and Makoto. Lost in duty, as was Ami. Lost in the pain they saw and couldn't prevent, my sisters. Lost in trying to find a reason and some validation for all the horror, Rei.

Lost in sleep, Crius.

Where it not for his incapacitation and the effort I expended in creating a delusion for him to dwell within, I may have had flashes of what was to come. I didn't. Nor, do I blame him. He is like a son to me, or at most a close nephew. Wilful and indignant, yet loved. And while pain would bring comfort and indeed love to him, it would also lead to suffering. Pain also leads to hate, which in turn, I am told, then leads to suffering.

My fascination with cinema, notwithstanding. Time had crept up behind me and sadly, it wasn't the first time. I should have been prepared! I should have seen it coming! But them, as Michelas is often wont to say, "We're only human, Mum."

To make more sense, I should cover the facts before I get lost in my own narrative again. Jack, beaten badly by Azel was healed and in similar form to Minako, I placed a memory lock upon his mind, specifically memories pertaining to his real identity and the reasons for his being in Tokyo. Creating the illusion of a student exchange and a concussion was simple but required a large amount of back and forth via electronic medium. Thankfully Ami was able to assist in this circumstance. Having placed Jack in a secure safehouse, I proceeded to visit, incognito, as it was the Senshi as they are described above.

It was here that we learnt of the death of Gurio Umino and the hospitalization of his girlfriend Osaka Naru. This bears little relevance aside from the forthcoming, as far as I can see, but provides a valuable piece of information for future reference.

At present I can only speculate if this is, or was, part of a plan imposed by this as yet unknown evil. What small memories I have from the future, from visits and travelling under 'business' pretences, and again what I had gathered during my later trips into the disparate lines, Gurio Umino was originally killed by gang members. This hurtful perversion of the time stream I can only guess at in reasoning. Whether it was simply a continuation of the psychic manipulation and draining placed up on the Senshi by the Azel entity or of some greater evil, I do not, as yet, know.

But here I may be reading far too much into a natural temporal anomaly, caused simply by Jack's inference into our present. I wander again. Let me continue.

Jack proceeded to heal, remarkably quickly as expected. Once that was accomplished he dived straight into the assumed reality I had constructed for his mind. And here my folly was established. Having Jack out of the safehouse, it enabled me to take a look into certain "things". Namely demons and their motivations. Sadly, as this didn't lead to much in the way of information, either through the ancient libraries at Alexandria and Babylon (r my own, not so small collection) or any noted Moon Kingdom scholars, it was with regret and a smattering of anger that I was unaware of Jack's growing relationship with a young girl at the university. The young girl would be introduced to me some three weeks later. I know as much of what happened with Jack as I do with the Senshi's activities, which is to say, not much. But I did know the girl of his attentions. Quite well, considering it was Minako.

Luckily, for Jack and in turn Minako, the circumstance of this "meeting" were one I had little time for leeway in. So quickly ministering to her injuries and cautioning Jack to watch her (which I emphasized with my usual subtlety), I followed the best lead I had in relation to our adversary. It was there, in that alleyway that I realised that Jack's power may have been veiled but his will had not. He had destroyed the youma, which would account for his pronounced confusion and erratic behaviour. That and another time walker was present and bearing witness.

I then went to find out what he was doing and why he deemed it necessary to interfere. Michelas, my son, also named Styx, named so after the River of Hades, guarding the boundary of its dark realm as it touches that of the light. Fitting that while I control time, my son has the ability to manipulate dimensional reality. Like the river Styx encircles Hades, reality encircles time.

He, as usual, was less than forthcoming. I can see, when I speak with my progeny, how annoying and cryptic I must seem to my sisters at times. He simply said that things must be as things must be and I left, feeling overall, quite unfulfilled with my research.

If I had been any less exhausted I would have realised that something was amiss. Michelas, loveable child, had altered my perception and sent me back some seven days later and dead tired. I collapsed into bed.

Some three hours later I was to awake as a temporal ripple like no other coursed across my senses. It was Crius again and this time he had done something thoroughly stupid and beyond his usual scope. He had lain with Minako. He had, and it still angers me to this moment, made her with child.

Our conversation I will not repeat here, needless to say, I goaded him and as with any provocation, he leapt into it with reigns off. And then surprising me that he had managed to tap his powers, he transformed before shortly thereafter teleporting away, his presence blocked from me.

Later I may write more in detail, but here again, I went in pursuit of my son, demanding of him an explanation.

Time means little here as events began to spiral out of my hands.

Out of foolhardy nature and a constant self reliance, I first went into the timestreams to witness the repercussions this "event" heralded. None were to my satisfaction. Indeed the more common resulted in The Silence never ending via the benevolence of Serenity's rule and humanity becoming a footnote on the page of history. And that was one of the better ones.

Styx, no doubt contrived to make things fit more with his objective while I struggled with mine. We work for the same cause, yet our methodology may often clash.

What I do know is that Naru awoke and strangely, after only several hours of tests was admitted leave. How this happened I can only guess but it is possible they needed the space. Usagi was nowhere to be found and I could sense neither her nor Mamoru.

In relative terms this was about an hour ago and while I still feel Michelas had a hand in this cloaking of souls, for whatever reason, it is not the time for speculation. I feel that things may be coming to a head. Events have moved closer and closer together, like the current flowing through time is uneven, broken and chaotic. I shall need to look back on these events with more clarity when I can distance myself from the rage of emotions I feel at present. My comrades may need...

-------

The pen scrawled off, the ink running from its nib as Setsuna dropped it. The negative energy rippled across her like a tidal wave and across the world, she could sense it break and wash over the others of her ilk, heroes, warriors and saviours. It destroyed the lesser, but drew the attention of the greater. And it was a presence harboured deep inside, one that Setsuna knew all too well.

Quickly she scanned up her writings, focusing on one paragraph in particular, slowly and shakily reading it aloud, her trembling finger moving beneath the words:

"Learnt of the death of Gurio Umino and the hospitalization of his girlfriend Osaka Naru. This bears little relevance..."

Setsuna disappeared, the mere throb of a heartbeat in her wake.

The pages of her journal sat untouched, before slowly, as if the ink was a hidden creature, burrowing under the fibres of parchment, words began to appear:

Folly. It was obvious and I should have seen it. There is a reason for everything, no matter how small or great. I know why he died, poor boy. I know why she was in hospital, unconscious and unresponsive and now, why she healed so quickly. I know that things will never be the same. And I pray I am not too late. Mayhap I should just simply, pray.

-------

**DISCLAIMERS**

Chapter Eighteen

Finished 22nd October 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Better Life by Three Doors Down from the album The Better Life is copyright Republic Records and Universal Records. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Loving Stars

Finished 1st October 2002. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Too Much Love Will Kill You by Queen from the album Made In Heaven is copyright Queen Productions Limited and EMI Records. The Struggle Within by Metallica from the album Metallica (Black) is copyright Metallica, Vertigo and Polygram Music Publishing. Think About You by Guns N Roses from the album Appetite For Destruction is copyright Geffen Record, BMG and MCA. How You Remind Me by Nickelback from the album Silverside Up is copyright Roadrunner Records and Sony Music Entertainment. Bed Of Roses and I'll Be There For You by Bon Jovi from the album Crossroads are copyright Mercury and Polygram Records Incorporated. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Nineteen

Finished 13th March 2003. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply.

Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. Sinner by Drowning Pool from the album Sinner is copyright Wind Up Records and Sony Music. "I'm With You" by Arvil Lavigne is copyright. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Twenty

Finished 7 August 2003. By Nicholas Paul Clark (Warriorsong). Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright Kodansha, Bandai, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DIC. God Of The Mind by Disturbed from the album The Sickness is copyright Reprise Records. The Star Wars reference is noted, as is the REM lyric and any other in-joke type things, and yeah, they are copyright to their respective owners as well. Not me. If any of this information is incorrect or absent, I offer my most humble apologies. No copyright infringement is intended, this is merely a work of fan fiction. I am in no way affiliated to any of these organizations, companies or individuals. Thank you for reading.


End file.
